Environmental, labor and business organizations formed a coalition to close ranks; the goal is to support Proposition 30 for its environmental and health benefits, and to help prevent wildfires.
“California is at the forefront of the climate crisis, with unprecedented wildfires, drought, and extreme weather changes costing lives, destroying our property, damaging our economy, damaging the state’s natural beauty, and jeopardizing our collective future.” – California Coalition cleanair. La Opinion said in written statements.
He stated that “Our air quality, often among the worst in the world, poses an unsustainable danger to public health, and therefore we cannot afford to wait.”
Clean Air California also stated that “to overcome this crisis, we will support Proposition 30 on November 8 to curb two of the largest sources of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the state: traffic and wildfires.”
“We wholeheartedly support this historical approach that embraces science and ensures justice; we look forward to our partnership as part of this coalition,” established Clean Air California.
Proposition 30 increases the state income tax rate by 1.75 percent for people with incomes over $2 million.
This tax is expected to generate between $3.5 billion and $5 billion a year; 80 percent will be used to help the poor buy electric vehicles and for electric charging stations for these vehicles; the remaining 20 percent will be used to hire and train additional firefighters across the state.
California already has a $10 billion budget to help residents purchase electric vehicles and build a network of charging stations over the next few years, but according to the California Clean Air coalition, the state will need Proposition 30 resources and more to meet the challenges.
Under legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, California will gradually replace fossil-fuel vehicles such as gasoline and diesel with electric vehicles in showrooms, and by 2035, just over a decade from now, will only sell vehicles that use electricity.
As for the network of charging stations, there are now about 80,000 in California, and it is planned to install 250,000 by 2025.
On the other hand, the need for fire training is increasing.
“The wildfires in California are changing the way we live for the worse,” said Tim Edwards, head of Cal Fire Forest Fire.
He explained that “the wildfires that we are seeing now have become a threat to public health, they spoil our air, endanger our land and destroy homes and businesses.”
The fire chief stated that “Cal Fire supports Proposition 30 because it provides an immediate, sustainable, and significant investment to prevent wildfires in our state and to provide Californians with clean air to breathe.”
One of the hurdles in switching from vehicles that now run on fossil fuels to vehicles that run on electricity, officials say, is that lower-income families and residents will find it difficult to buy new vehicles and therefore be forced to keep using yours. polluting vehicles for a while.
The California Clean Air Coalition points out that this is an area where Proposition 30 can best help by increasing the budget by up to 50 percent to implement the state’s changes.
Fossil fuel vehicles currently account for 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the California Air Resources Board.
As California’s population grows, the need for more vehicles will increase.
For medical, economic, environmental, fire, electoral, and other reasons, Proposition 30 is supported by the American Lung Association, California Democratic Party, California State Electrician Association, California Green Voters Organization, and Lyft drivers. Platform.
The American Lung Association, in particular, states that the regions with the most degraded air conditions in the country are in California and are mainly due to pollution from vehicles.
Source: La Opinion
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