American Lung Association in California's Doctors for Climate Health Campaign says Climate Change is Worsening California's Air Quality Crisis
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dozens of doctors from around California have joined forces to declare that our state's air quality is in critical condition and action must be taken to address climate change and air pollution to reduce impacts on public health.
This week, the Doctors for Climate Health Campaign, organized by the American Lung Association in California, launched an online ad campaign to call attention to the need for comprehensive climate change policies in California.
"California has some of the worst air quality in the country with nearly 80 percent of our citizens living with unhealthy air pollution," said Olivia Diaz-Lapham, President and CEO of the American Lung Association in California. "The Doctors for Climate Health Campaign calls attention to the connections between climate change and air pollution and the need for strong policies to reduce greenhouse gases and super pollutants."
Super pollutants, or short-lived carbon climate pollutants, include black carbon from diesel engines and wood smoke, and methane from landfills and dairies. Reducing these emissions is critical to improving our air quality and lung health. While super pollutants stay in the atmosphere for a relatively short time, their damage can be hundreds of thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide emissions.
The Doctors for Climate Health ads feature Dr. Felix Aguilar, a family practice physician who regularly administers breathing treatments to his patients in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles region has the worst ozone pollution in the country and ranks fourth nationwide for particle pollution. Rising temperatures, droughts, wildfires and other extreme events due to climate change are further damaging our air quality and health.
"As doctors, we know that clean air is essential for lung health" said Dr. Aguilar. "We need to focus on cleaning up our air so that all Californians can breathe easier, especially those with asthma, COPD and other lung and heart illnesses."
Reducing super pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions would save California billions of dollars in health care costs, reduce the number of emergency room and hospital visits, lower asthma rates, and most importantly save thousands of lives every year.
The Doctors for Climate Health ads will run in several online publications including the Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times.
To learn more about our doctors and health professionals and join their call to end the threat of climate change and clean up California's air pollution, click here.
Be a part of the conversation online and share this urgent call for climate action from the American Lung Association in California. Visit our Facebook and Twitter and use the hashtag #ClimateHealth.
About the American Lung Association in California
The American Lung Association in California is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through research, education and advocacy. The Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer, to improve the air we breathe, to reduce the burden of lung disease on individuals and their families, and to eliminate tobacco use and tobacco-related diseases. For more information about the American Lung Association in California or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-685-4872) or visit www.lung.org/california
Media Contact: Ryan Endean | (916) 585-7666 | [email protected]
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SOURCE American Lung Association in California
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