Southern California has some of the worst air quality in the United States.
It’s not all about tailpipes, smokestacks, and recent wildfires. A huge amount of air and climate pollution in the region comes from buildings. Burning methane gas generates nitrogen oxides or NOx pollution. NOx causes health problems, including childhood asthma. People of color are more impacted by the pollution, and burning that same methane also harms the climate.
California has regional air districts responsible for air quality. For much of Southern California, it’s the South Coast Air Quality Management District or SCAQMD.
On June 6, the SCAQMD is voting on proposed rules to cut the pollution from furnaces and hot water heaters, the big methane users in many buildings. The rules will require manufacturers to gradually transition toward selling pollution-free technologies like heat pumps, an important step for clean air. The fossil fuel industry and their allies have been pushing back hard on the rules and have already succeeded in getting the rules weakened. We need to get the rules passed now and strengthened once they are in place.
Will you send a message to get these rules to cut air pollution passed?
