Air quality levels in Bakersfield have been hovering around the ‘unhealthy’ mark all summer. Contributors to the smog include the consistent triple-digit temperatures, car exhaust–and most prominently, the more than dozen wildfires blazing across the state. “When we have a wildfire, the impact of the smoke is very significant, and we would encourage anybody to stay indoors,” said Christal Martinez from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District…
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This page features excerpts from news about environmental justice advocacy in the San Joaquin Valley and links to their original sources. Use the features on the right to sort by topic, news source, date, key word or author. You may also subscribe to receive the news by e-mail or through an rss reader. Please note that links to original sources may expire over time.
Jose Gurrola always keeps an inhaler nearby—tucked into his gym bag, in his car, in his office. He’s had asthma for as long as he can remember. He considers himself lucky because he was diagnosed early; his mother is a nurse. After his diagnosis, his parents pulled up all the carpet in their house in Alvin, California, since carpet fibers can harbor the pollutants and allergens that trigger asthma attacks….
The sight of high school football players dashing across smoky fields on an August morning was shocking. Even more surprising were the words from coaches and athletic directors from local school districts who explained to one TV news reporter that all was fine. True, if we’re talking fine particulates. The air was filled with “fine” that day, as were the lungs of young athletes, with smoke from the deadly, weeks-old Ferguson Fire now trapped on the Valley floor…
A number of California’s natural gas power plants are located in low-income communities of color. For decades, these communities have unjustly carried the burden of powering our state and paid the highest price — their health — for dirty energy. The good news is that, according to an analysis just released by the Union of Concerned Scientists, California can retire a significant amount of natural gas generation because it is no longer needed…
Despite the Trump administration’s quest to invalidate California’s authority to enforce stricter rules on greenhouse gas emissions, California continues to lead the pack in reducing its carbon footprint through its cap-and-trade program. The program “caps” the amount of carbon dioxide emissions while allowing companies to “trade” surplus allowances to other businesses that surpass emission limits. Companies are able to purchase allowances at monthly auctions that have generated $4.4 billion in state revenue since 2012…
Air quality in Fresno hit the highest unhealthy level on Monday, fueled by smoke from six fires in California, including the Ferguson Fire that has burned into Yosemite National Park. “This is unusual and remarkable and unpleasant,” said Jaime Holt, a spokeswoman for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. The district’s air monitor in central Fresno recorded a RAAN Level 5 — the most unhealthy level for a one-hour reading. And the monitor in Clovis recorded a Level 4, the second-highest reading…
The state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act is likely to result in fallowing thousands of acres of farmland. Local governments are just waking up to the big opportunities, and risks, in how that land gets reused…
In California, low-income residents, communities of color, immigrants, and indigenous communities experience a disproportionate burden of environmental pollution and related health problems. These inequitable impacts are caused by living in close proximity to multiple environmental health hazards….
CEJA is proud to announce the release of our newest Green Zones Across California report for 2018! This updated 36-page report highlights nine different Green Zones case studies where members of different environmental justice communities have led their own projects and visions for achieving Green Zones….
Protecting the health and diversity of soil microbes in California’s Central Valley is also the first step to protecting the health and diversity of the region’s inhabitants…