Central Valley Air Quality coalition (CVAQ): Working for environmental justice in California's San Joaquin Valley (FMM)

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Carolina Simunovic, Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation, Fresno Metro Ministry, 60 S. Market St., Suite 1000, San Jose, CA 95113, 408-278-2278, mvanscherrenburg@kirschfoundation.org

Fresno Metro Ministry (FMM), a member of the Central Valley Air Quality coalition (CVAQ) that develops leadership among communities of color in low income neighborhoods, will present the history of CVAQ as well as its recent accomplishments in influencing regional compliance with existing clean air laws and the development of new state legislation to improve air quality. FMM will also describe how CVAQ functions and utilizes a list-serv to communicate among the region's membership, as well as to strategize CVAQ's advocacy efforts. California's San Joaquin Valley, the state's agricultural heartland, is host to a unique concentration of environmental health risks from air pollution, including pesticides, dust from plowed fields, smoke from agricultural burning, diesel emissions, and urban air pollution, among other sources. It shares the distinction of having the worst air quality in the nation with the Los Angeles area, with asthma and disease rates at epidemic proportions. CVAQ is a diverse group of organizations and individuals – from premier environmental organizations to grassroots communities of color – with the shared goal of cleaning up the Valley's air, and comprises more than 120 members representing 55 organizations with environmental, public health, community, and environmental justice concerns. CVAQ is an excellent example of how a coalition – operating in a politically conservative and environmentally hostile region – can add up to more than the sum of its parts.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

• Understand the myriad and unique conditions that contribute to this historically rural area’s poor air quality;
• Recognize the research linking air quality, asthma attacks among school age children, and the impact on school attendance;
• Understand how the air quality disproportionately impacts communities of color in the San Joaquin Valley;
• Understand the important elements of a successful coalition of advocates; and
• Recognize key strategies for advocating for improved air quality.

Keywords: Environmental Health, Air Pollutants

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation

Advocacy for Improved Air Quality-A Community Environmental Justice Perspective

The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA