The Geeky Brit

This was sent to the Merced Sun Star today:

Letter to the Editor: Someone’s cleaning the air:

Editor: I would just like to thank the MMCAC (Merced/Mariposa County Asthma Coalition) for their very kind words of encouragement. And, God bless them and every one of their beloved associates for what they are doing in Fresno and in Sacramento in the neverending battle to improve our air quality! It has been a very long, lonely struggle for me with folks telling me all my life that my ideas of using something other than fossil fuels to power vehicles would never be more than a futuristic pipe dream.

My lovely wife is the Program Manager for the Merced / Mariposa County Asthma Coalition, and it is nice to hear how the public appreciates her and the coalition’s efforts. On behalf of my wife, I would like to say “Your Welcome”.

Florez’s proposed bill SB719 that supports board reform in the San Juaquin Valley Air District has been hailed as a great idea by many. Except the board, who think they are doing a great job.

Dean Florez attended the hearing when the board voted to oppose the addition of public health experts to a public health agency.

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Today Arnie fired the Robert Sawyer from the chairmenship of the California Air Resources Board.

Arnie cites the delay of 11 years in cleaning the air in the San Joaquin Valley as one of the reasons.

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Our California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger also agrees with me. In a statement released from his office on 6/22

“I was deeply disappointed, however, that the California Air Resources Board voted last week to seek an 11-year delay in enforcement of federal air quality standards in the San Joaquin Valley.  Regardless of whether the US EPA’s failure to grant California the authority to implement aggressive emissions standards is partly to blame for our inability to meet federal standards, the Air Board let the federal government off the hook by seeking delay.
 
“There are few environmental issues facing Californians that are more important to our children’s health, our quality of life, and our economic security than air quality.  When one out of six residents in the San Joaquin Valley has been diagnosed with asthma and one in five children carry an inhaler to school, it is a call to action.”

The call to action the board of directors, and the ACPO Seyed Sadredin feels is satisfactory, is to postpone clean air in the valley for 11 years. It amazes me that so many people think it is time for tough action (including Arnie), and yet the board feels its time to sink their collective heads in the sand, and pretend not to hear the voice of public opinion. There are a couple on the board that appear to hear the growing sound of public dissatisfaction, and that may be good news. If they all start feeling the pressure of public opinion then perhaps they will start acting in a responsible way.