Chandler: Arizonans need relief from air pollution, climate change

Arizona is in a tough spot. Along with much of the Western United States, we are experiencing a mega-drought — the worst in 1,200 years.

Droughts like this are a direct threat to public health, polluting our water and the air we breathe.

With air pollution, however, there is another threat facing communities like Phoenix: particulate matter, also known as PM 2.5. Particulate pollution, mainly stemming from dirty power plants, cars and trucks, and climate change-fueled wildfires can cause serious health problems such as heart attacks, strokes, asthma attacks and even birth defects.

A recent study found that particulate pollution even at levels that meet national air quality standards increases the risk of death, especially among older adults.

After living in Phoenix for more than 40 years, I know how damaging air pollution can be here. When I first moved to the area, the air was relatively clean. But the city’s pollution skyrocketed, and Phoenix has become one of the most polluted cities in the United States.

Daily, I live with the impacts of air pollution on my health including chronic cough, difficulty breathing and frequent respiratory and asthma-related events.

Now I worry not only about older adults like myself and those with underlying health conditions, both of which make us extremely vulnerable to adverse health outcomes from air pollution, but also about the next generation and their ability to breathe clean air. As a grandparent, this is deeply important to me.

Thankfully, there is a path forward.

Throughout his first year in office, President Biden has demonstrated a commitment to climate action and clean air, enacting a whole-of-government approach to address these two life-threatening problems. Now, as we have heard the president’s first State of the Union address on March 1, Arizonans need President Biden to use this opportunity to double down on that commitment.

Already, his Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing and strengthening air quality standards for soot pollution — the same pollution threatening Phoenix. Actions like this can fight pollution and save lives.

However, action at the executive level is just the start. We also need the legislative branch to step in and take action to reduce climate pollution and build a safer, cleaner and healthier future. The president has already outlined his vision to do so, and late last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed $550 billion in climate and clean energy investments to fight the climate crisis and accelerate our nation’s clean energy transition.

It is time for Arizona’s leaders and the full Senate to put politics aside and pass these historic investments.

If Congress passes bold climate investments, we can help prevent the worst impacts of climate change. The climate crisis is already damaging our health, infrastructure and economy — over the past five years, the United States has experienced 86 extreme weather events that caused more than $742 billion in damages and claimed thousands of lives. We know the risks to Arizona and our way of life, and we know what it takes to solve this crisis.

These investments will spur clean energy technologies and create jobs while fighting pollution in the process.

Climate action and clean air should be non-negotiable priorities for all of Arizona’s leaders. We are looking to Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly to show leadership that puts our health and environment first by getting climate done in the Senate.

Climate can’t wait, our health can’t wait, and we need President Biden and Arizona’s leaders in Congress to act now — before our health and environment suffer even more damage.

Editor’s note: Hazel Chandler is an organizer with Moms Clean Air Force Arizona. She has lived in Phoenix for more than four decades.