RAMP, the American Lung Association in California, and other partners urge health and medical leaders from throughout California to join us in reminding policy makers that clean air saves lives and money. Air pollution has created a public health crisis in California. California’s innovative clean air laws are vital to cut harmful pollution from our air, reduce the incidence of asthma attacks and lung and heart illnesses that send people to hospitals and emergency rooms, and help people live full and healthy lives.  AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, is helping California advance beyond dirty petroleum fuels and embrace clean energy, clean transportation and land use planning that reduces traffic pollution and promotes public health. Unfortunately, AB 32 has come under attack by those who want to defend the status quo. Now is a critical time for health and medical leaders to speak out and defend AB 32 as a critical air quality and public health law.

Californians overwhelmingly voted in 2010 to affirm the state’s leadership in creating cleaner air and a clean energy economy, defeating an oil industry initiative to overturn the ground-breaking Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32). Despite that victory of clean air over corporate pollution, we must remain vigilant to ongoing efforts by polluters that would weaken or delay AB 32 and other vital clean air programs that protect public health and reduce health care costs.

With the leadership of the American Lung Association, and in collaboration with a host of other public health and medical organizations like RAMP, you are invited to join the campaign to protect our clean air laws. The campaign is a call to California’s elected leaders to uphold our clean air laws by:

• Promoting AB 32 and California’s leadership in setting strong clean air standards to transition California to a clean energy economy and protect public health.
• Supporting California’s innovative and life-saving programs to implement AB 32 including: Advanced Clean Cars, Low Carbon Fuel Standard, SB 375 Sustainable Communities planning efforts and other key clean air programs.
• Fighting efforts to weaken, delay or otherwise undermine California’s clean air and clean energy standards.

To learn more about the campaign, click here. To read the campaign health statement, click here . To join the campaign, click here .

Actions you will be able to take as part of the campaign include:

• Collecting endorsements from health and medical colleagues
• Publishing articles in your organization’s newsletter
• Conducting media outreach (op-eds, letters to the editor, etc.)
• Meeting with policy makers

We appreciate your support – please join today!