The Human Costs of California’s Energy Choices

Jane Williams, Executive Director California Communities Against

Toxics

Air Pollution from our Energy Choices Affects Californians

• Air pollution caused from our energy choices affects Californians health and quality of life.

• Air pollution from our energy choices is warming the climate and threatens to have wide ranging effects on California’s future.

• Air pollution from our energy choices can be dramatically reduced if we began to rely on cleaner energy to meet future need.

The health effects

• Asthma in California leads to lost school days, lost work days for parents, medical costs, and lost worker productive.

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder is an early mortality problem.

• Chronic respiratory disease causes lost work days, medical costs, and restricted activity among both children and adults

Outdoor Particulate Effects on Children’s Asthma

• Study in EHP by Koenig et al about effects of indoor and outdoor generated particles on lungs of asthmatic children in SeattleKoenig JQ, Mar TF, Allen RW, Jansen K, Lumley T, Sullivan JH, Trenga CA, Larson TV, and Liu L-JS. 2005. Pulmonary Effects of Indoor- and Outdoor-Generated Particles in Children with Asthma. Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), 113 (4): 499-503.

Fine particles, or PM2.5, was the exposure variable assessed. The outcome variable measured was exhaled nitric oxide (eNO), which is a biological marker of inflammation of the airways. Among asthmatic study children not using corticosteroid medications, the model results suggested an increase of 10 micrograms per cubic meter of outdoor-generated PM2.5 was statistically significantly associated with about a 5 ppb increase in eNO. This study suggested personal exposure to outdoor-generated PM2.5, may be more potent (and toxic) per unit mass than particles generated inside homes or schools.

Some Climate Change Impacts from Our Energy Choices

• As the state gets hotter, ozone levels will rise, this exacerbates our already unacceptable health outcomes.

• As the state gets hotter, the snow-pack relied upon by many Californians for their water supply will become less reliable creating water shortages.

• The state’s coastline will begin to rise from the effects of rising ocean waters.

Clean Power

• We need to develop the abundant energy resources in the state that can give us the power we need without the collateral damage of asthma, COPD, rising oceans, and reduced water flow.

• We need to start the process now of planning for the transmission and production of new energy resources.

California Needs to Meet its Future Energy Demand with Clean Energy

California Electricity, Non-fossil ResourcesAB 32 scenario - equal CO2 emissions from coal and gas

(Billion Kilowatt-hours)

0

50

100

150

200

250

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

Biomass

Geothermal

Wind

Solar

Hydroelectricity

Nuclear

Benefits of Clean Energy to California

The benefits of clean energy to Californians are many:

• Reduced pollution from power production.• Reduced price swings from the volatile natural

gas market.• Contribute to the security of the country if we

begin to rely on instate resources to produce power.

• Increase the wealth of California by being self-reliant and using our own resources to produce energy.

Benefits to California of Clean Energy-con’t

• Clean energy production requires many more workers to build and maintain the energy resources than do gas power plants.

• Clean energy production can contribute to innovations both in production and distribution of energy resources, this will reward California’s high tech industries and entrepreneurship.

Recommendation

Recommendation:

California needs a process to work with communities, entrepreneurs, environmental advocates, utilities, government, and others to plan for transmission and development of new instate energy resources.