Target: Michael Regan, EPA Administrator
Goal: Reduce the pollution caused by heavy-duty, gas-guzzling vehicles.
Trucks and buses are responsible for more than 420 million tons of pollution each year in America alone. Although these heavy-duty vehicles only make up about 4% of traffic, they are the largest contributor to air pollution on American highways. Those who live closest to our nation’s roads, highways, and ports face the greatest health risks from that pollution, with people of color disproportionately affected by higher exposure. But we can stop it; zero-emission technologies are increasingly readily available, and we can use those technologies through building and adopting clean trucks and buses to offset the damage done by the massive pollution currently being pumped into the atmosphere.
The Environmental Defense Fund estimates that if the U.S gets heavy-duty vehicles to be zero-emitting by 2035, and zero-emission by 2040, this will eliminate 4.7 billion tons of climate pollution and prevent more than 57,000 deaths.
Sign the petition to call for stronger standards to reduce and eliminate these massive, unnecessary emissions.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. Regan,
It is more important than ever to support stricter air pollution standards for trucks and busses. While they make up just over 4% of traffic on our roads, these gas-guzzling vehicles are responsible for more than 420 million tons of climate pollution every year — pollution that disproportionately affects lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color.
As zero-emission technologies become more readily available, it’s essential that we change air pollution standards to encourage companies to change to clean, energy-efficient vehicles. By making sure that all new heavy-duty vehicles sold for both community and urban use are zero-emission by 2040 we can not only create jobs, but save lives and build a better world for the future. If these targets are met America would eliminate 4.7 billion metric tons of climate pollution and counteract more than 57,000 untimely deaths by 2050. The science is clear: it is time to take sudden action to protect citizens from contamination caused by the heavily polluting buses and trucks.
Please, move to adopt stronger standards to combat this devastating form of pollution.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Max Pixel
Literally everything you eat, wear, use in everyday life…it all comes by truck so you want to get rid of trucks…not very smart.
Maybe people need to stop being so materialistic. No one needs half the junk they buy. We are a wasteful society