It’s a pursuit that’s never ending, on his mind daily, ever mindful around the clock that Southern California has suffered some of the worst air quality in the nation.
South Pasadena City Councilmember Michael Cacciotti, who also serves as the vice chair for the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), knows firsthand the challenges of cleaning up the air.
“While a lot of progress has been made,” Cacciotti told members of the League of Women Voters, Pasadena Area, during a forum on air quality and the impact on health last Saturday morning, “we still face significant issues.”
Showing a slide of a smog-filled Los Angeles skyline, he explained, despite notable improvement over the years, much more needs to be done. “The good news is there’s something we can all do to make a difference in improving the air we breathe,” said Cacciotti during the event at First United Methodist Church in Pasadena. “The bad news we still have a long way to go to meet health-based air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter.”
He pointed out that the largest contributor to air pollution in the basin is a result of mobile sources, including trains, ships, off-road construction equipment, heavy-duty trucks and planes.
“Mobile sources amount to about 80% of our air pollution,” said the local councilmember. “Stationary sources of air pollution, generally from activities that don’t move – such as a power plant, factory, refineries, and industrial businesses – make up about the other 20 percent.”
Premature mortality, respiratory ailments, reproductive concerns, neurological disorders and even cancer – although the rates of the latter have gone down – are among the health outcomes linked to pollution, noted Cacciotti.
“One positive note,” he said, “is that cancer risk declined from 2012 to 2018 by roughly 50%. California’s economy has consistently grown while emissions have steadily decreased, leading to improved ozone levels over time.”
Cacciotti focused on the SCAQMD making continued regulatory efforts on businesses, including the issuing of permits and enforcement, along with aggressive public outreach efforts to cut pollution figures. In addition, the agency features an extensive air quality monitoring network circulating the region with sensor-equipped -vans, collecting data throughout the day.
Joining Cacciotti at the forum was Steven Boddeker, a SCAQMD air quality specialist in the monitoring and analysis division. He provided an overview of the agency’s air monitoring efforts. His presentation addressed the recent devastating Eaton and Palisades fires, showing how the District continues to examine data at its state-of-the-art laboratory as part of the agency’s Diamond Bar headquarters.
“We will continue to provide updates for particular matter, air toxics and asbestos in communities near burn zones through our air monitoring efforts,” said Cacciotti. “Thousands of acres of land were consumed from these fires, leading to significant property losses and affecting local ecosystems. The long-term effects of these wildfires also include health impacts from smoke and air pollution, which can persist long after the fires are contained.”
Another presenter, Dan Mabe, the founder and president of the American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA), addressed incentive programs at SCAQMD for residential and commercial lawn and gardeners, along with institutions, in particular colleges and cities like South Pasadena that have reached the organization’s high certification standards. In 2015, the town became the first in the nation to go all-electric with lawn and gardening maintenance in its parks. In another first, last year South Pasadena was the first police force in the nation to go all-electric with a fleet of 20 new Tesla patrol vehicles.
“We are dedicated to improving the quality of life for communities by promoting cleaner, quieter, and more sustainable landscaping practices,” said Mabe.
Cacciotti also highlighted the SCAQMD mission, pointing out it’s “to clean the air and protect the health of all residents in the South Coast Air Quality District through practical and innovative strategies,” before adding. “We need to continue to clean up the air and reduce the harmful impacts of air pollution which are toxic and cause serious health impacts, whether it’s your lungs, heart, brain, asthma, bronchitis-all kinds of respiratory conditions. It creates havoc on our personal and animal health.”
On the bright side in the fight for clean air, Cacciotti said the ground level ozone has gone down substantially since the 1980s. He’s also aware it takes a large team joining the SCAQMD to clean the air. “There have been a couple of upticks on account of climate change, meteorologist conditions, and fires but we’ve made significant progress,” he said. “The cancer risk has gone down 50% in just the last eight years in the basin because of actions we’ve taken, working hand in hand with our stakeholders, the environmental and regulated community, our partners at the California Air Resources Board at the state level and United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), other groups like the Sierra Club, Earth Justice, Coalition for Clean Air, truck manufactures on down to neighborhood groups and individuals taking the initiative to transitioning to cleaner efforts to protect our planet and human health.”
Cacciotti concluded the program with a call to action, saying everyone can “do one thing” and make a difference when it comes to impacting air quality. “There is a direct relationship between the quality of the air we breathe and the quality of life we live,” he said.
Simple ways to reduce global carbon emissions can be accomplished by carpooling or using public transit, purchasing an electric vehicle, using water-based paints, avoid aerosol products, conserving energy and by recycling.
“I’m fortunate the League of Women Voters approached me to talk about climate and health related issues and sources of air pollution in the basin,” Cacciotti said following the forum. “It was good to talk about the progress we have made and next steps to cleaner air. The League of Women Voters is a very engaged group, working like us at the SCAQMD to seek lower emissions in our everyday life. Along with us, they are dedicated to working from a fossil-based economy to a green economy, and focusing on zero-emission efforts to reduce pollution in return for healthier air.”
