Say no to more dirty power plants
11-year-old Emilio Luna has lived his entire life in the shadow of a giant polluting plant that pumped carbon monoxide and hazardous air pollution into his neighborhood in San Diego. And for 11 years, since he was a baby, he attended meetings with his mom aimed at shutting it down. The good news? The city finally did the right thing and closed down the plant, putting San Diego on the right path towards clean energy and clean air.
But now, big utility companies are trying to move two new dirty energy plants into San Diego—taking over precious open space and making San Diego’s air even more polluted. The California Public Utilities Commission is set to vote on approval of the 2 new power plants this Thursday. CEJA has been working hard to ensure the CPUC Commissioners stand up for environmental justice rejecting the new power plant and prioritizing clean energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Keep air pollution out of the community! CEJA and our member organization Environmental Health Coalition will be mobilizing to say NO to more dirty energy!
Both Quail Brush and Pio Pico would increase power plant emissions of greenhouse gases in San Diego County by over 32 percent, at a time when we are trying to significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the threat from climate change. These two power plants combined could threaten the public health of San Diego communities.
The utility companies say natural gas power plants are “clean,” even though they emit lots of green house gases, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and hazardous air pollution.
California doesn’t need these power plants—the state has already committed to meeting energy needs via energy efficiency and renewable energy. It is simply a ploy by greedy utility companies that puts the health of the community at risk. And it happens all the time. Latinos are highly impacted by air quality issues—suffering from asthma and respiratory illnesses at alarming rates.
Latino communities in San Diego are already disproportionately impacted by health issues related to poor air quality, and will be hurt first and worst by climate change. These power plants will harm the health and quality of life in communities of color, and we need to say loud and clear: our communities deserve better!
Emilio Luna speaks out at the demolition of the South Bay Power Plant against dirty energy. Now his health is threatened once more from San Diego Gas & Edison’s new proposed power plants. Photo courtesy of Environmental Health Coalition.
