ojai news at The Ojai Post :: blog, newspaper, events in Ojai, California

FROM THE LA TIMES:

Air board cracks down on diesel

July 27, 2007

SACRAMENTO — California's diesel-powered bulldozers, scrapers and other heavy construction equipment must be retrofitted or replaced over the next 13 years to reduce the air pollution that sickens tens of thousands of residents every year, state regulators decided Thursday.

Under tough new rules adopted by the Air Resources Board, California is the first state to make construction companies fix existing diesel-powered machines. Heavy equipment can last 30 years or more, so without the new mandate, it would take decades for fleets to upgrade to cleaner equipment.

Although the fumes are most often associated with big trucks and buses, 20% of California's diesel pollution comes from the construction industry. Building, mining and airport vehicles are responsible for an estimated 1,100 premature deaths statewide every year and more than 1,000 hospitalizations for heart and lung disease, along with tens of thousands of asthma attacks, scientists say.

The air board's new rules will slash diesel soot — also known as particulate matter — from construction equipment by 92% over 2000 levels. Smog-forming nitrogen oxides will be cut by more than a third. And greenhouse gases, a byproduct of fuel burning, also will drop as a result of a ban on idling equipment.

"This is a very progressive rule with a lot of flexibility," said board Chairwoman Mary Nichols. "Beginning in 2010, we will be breathing far less of the smog and fine particulates that are so damaging to our health."

(FOR THE FULL ARTICLE GO TO:)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-diesel27jul27,1,6251229.story?coll=la-headlines-california

FROM SCIENCE DAILY:

Diesel Exhaust Pollution Linked To Clogged Arteries
Science Daily — Got high cholesterol? You might want to stay away from air pollution.

That's the message of a new UCLA study linking diesel exhaust to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which significantly increases one's risk for heart attack and stroke. Published in the July 26 edition of the online journal Genome Biology, the findings are the first to explain how fine particles in air pollution conspire with artery-clogging fats to switch on the genes that cause blood vessel inflammation and lead to cardiovascular disease.
"When you add one plus one, it normally totals two," said principal investigator Dr. André Nel, chief of nanomedicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a researcher at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute. "But we found that adding diesel particles to cholesterol fats equals three. Their combination creates a dangerous synergy that wreaks cardiovascular havoc far beyond what's caused by the diesel or cholesterol alone."

(FOR THE FULL ARTICLE GO TO:)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070726090009.htm

More From Scinece Daily:
Diesel exhaust exposure biomarker found

KANAZAWA, Japan, July 31 (UPI) -- A Japanese-U.S. science team has created the first test to detect a biomarker for human exposure to diesel exhaust, a probable human carcinogen.

The researchers, led by Akira Toriba of Japan's Kanazawa University, said the new test should be useful for monitoring human exposure to diesel exhaust and in studies of potential cancer risks associated with such exposure.

(FOR THE FULL ARTICLE GO TO:)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070731-14552000-bc-japan-biomarker.xml

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The "Stop The Trucks" Coalition is an independant organization of concerned citizens that is wholly dependent on donations. It also includes the Superintendent of the Ojai Unified School District, the Major of Ojai, and representatives from the Board of Realtors, the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce, Forest Watch and volunteers from environmental, business, economic, scientific and legal professions. Our efforts to save the Ojai Valley is supported by politicians of both political parties - CA State Assemblywoman, Audra Strickland, and Ventura County Supervisor, Steve Bennett.

At present, only a small portion of the permitted trucks are coming through our area, but it's already clear that an invasion of up to 800/day 80,000 lb gravel trucks driving through our community all day and night is a situation that affects us all. It is also clear that enforcement of permit restrictions on the number and hours of daily truck trips is inadequate and ineffective. If and when new and proposed mines are granted 30 year permits and trucks are traveling State Highways 33 and 150 in both directions, we will suffer the serious negative impacts of noise and air pollution, road and safety degradation, and decline of our real estate values, recreation based economy and our overall quality of life.

It's in your own best interests to not allow the adage, "You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone" to happen.

Stopping the trucks is not a one time challenge, but a long multi-year battle against multiple mines. Ventura, Santa Barbara, Kern and San Luis Obispo Counties all want the mines to supply materials for growth and CalTrans is among the biggest customer of gravel and asphalt. The Stop The Trucks Coalition is not against growth, development or maintainence of infrastructure, but believes it should and can be done in a manner that does not sacrifice the survival of the Ojai Valley.

The Coalition has received, and spent much of the donations that were previously raised at community rallies and from local businesses to retain environmental lawyers and experts, who have done a great job for us at the Diamond Rock Permit hearings before the SB Planning Commission. But it needs ongoing community funding to pay these experts to turn our concerns into scientific and legal positions and effectively argue them before Planning Commissions, Boards of Supervisors and, if necessary, in courts of law.

We need to raise $200,000 to fund our case before and during the permit phase of each of several mines. If everyone in the Ojai valley immediately contributed $100, we could put more energy into stopping the trucks than fund raising. Since that won't happen, please contribute as much as you can.

Please print and fill out the contribution form at this website; make checks out to StopTheTrucks; and mail them to the Ojai Chamber of Commerce. ( http://www.ojaipost.com/2007/05/stop_the_trucks_pledge_form.shtml )

You can stay up to date on information and events at http://www.ojaipost.com/stopthetrucks.shtml