Marking the annual Clean Air Day, Sacramento engages in reflection and action toward a less polluted horizon. The City, alongside the Coalition for Clean Air, dedicated October 2 to contemplate and commit to initiatives with the sole purpose of bettering air quality and shielding public health from the clutches of pollution, an issue that has garnered statewide attention. "Sustainability takes all of us – the City, agency partners, businesses, and each community member – working together to make choices that reduce our impact on our air quality and the environment," said Rachel Patten, Sustainability Program Specialist, in a statement obtained by Sacramento City Express.
The City's Office of Climate Action and Sustainability is leading efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for climate change. Recently, they added a new fully electric waste collection truck to the municipal fleet, which already includes over 130 electric vehicles. The City's commitment to cleaner air is also reflected in the Sacramento Urban Forest Plan, which aims to increase the city's tree canopy from 19 percent to 35 percent by 2045. This ambitious plan requires planting and preserving many trees each year.
Another progeny of these efforts is an Air Quality Monitoring Pilot that, through synergy with the Sacramento Metro Air Quality Management District, sought to fill voids in air quality data with a focus on at-risk areas. An innovation of neighborhood-scale mobile and stationary air monitoring, the results of this pilot can be scrutinized in the launched StoryMap featured on the City's website. September's City Council meeting, held on September 23, became a platform for Councilmember Eric Guerra to acknowledge Clean Air Day. In a report by Sacramento City Express, Guerra remarked, "Our region is among the top ten worst regions for air pollution in the entire country. This negatively impacts public health, especially among our children, seniors, and those with asthma and other lung diseases."
Guerra, who is also a member of the California Air Resources Board, urged residents to consider using different modes of transport, participating in community tree planting, and taking other actions to improve the city's air quality. Recognizing that the region ranks among the ten worst for air pollution in the country, the message for Sacramento residents is clear: improving air quality is a shared responsibility, one breath at a time. For updates on the City's sustainability efforts, residents are encouraged to visit the City website and sign up for email updates.
