{"id":12845,"date":"2015-04-15T19:03:06","date_gmt":"2015-04-16T00:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=12845"},"modified":"2016-04-01T17:42:11","modified_gmt":"2016-04-01T22:42:11","slug":"clearing-the-air-l-a-s-vision-for-clean-transportation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2015\/04\/15\/clearing-the-air-l-a-s-vision-for-clean-transportation\/","title":{"rendered":"Clearing the Air: L.A.\u2019s Vision for Clean Transportation"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Larissa Koehler<\/a> and Jorge Madrid<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"3091482472_90f3126a9f_z\"<\/a>There\u2019s something remarkable happening in the city of Los Angeles, you can feel it in the air \u2013 and it\u2019s definitely not the country\u2019s worst pollution<\/a> or the record-breaking heat<\/a> \u2013 it\u2019s the winds of change. Los Angeles is in the process of reinventing itself from a dystopian vision of traffic jams and unbreathable air into an urban leader in sustainability.<\/p>\n

Last week L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled a bold new plan<\/a> (pLAn) to revolutionize sustainability in Los Angeles, including taking a bite of the big enchilada responsible for the most air pollution that gets in our lungs and greenhouse gas pollution that causes climate change \u2013 the transportation sector. Mobile sources (think diesel trucks, trains, ships, aircraft, and cars) account for 90 percent<\/em><\/a> of Southern California\u2019s harmful air pollution. Statewide, the transportation sector is responsible for nearly 70 percent of smog-forming gases and 40 percent of the state\u2019s climate change pollution every year.<\/p>\n

While some progress has been made \u2013 the number of non-attainment days (days when an area doesn\u2019t meet the federal air quality standard) has decreased dramatically since the 1990s and the Port of Los Angeles has reduced diesel particulate matter by 80 percent since 2005 \u2013 there are still huge clean air disparities. We know the dirtiest zip codes<\/a> in L.A. are also the ones with a disproportionately large amount of low-income communities and people of color. We cannot run a victory lap on this issue until EVERYONE in L.A. can safely get around the city and breathe healthy air at the same time.<\/p>\n

So what about these winds of change? We think the mayor\u2019s pLAn is a big deal, it can help spark a transformation of the entire region and we look forward to helping make it even stronger. For starters, the pLAn will:<\/p>\n