The San Diego region is well-known for its beautiful beaches and great weather, but what most don’t realize is that the region’s air pollution has been getting worse over the past few years, mainly as a result of increasing emissions from the transportation sector. San Diegans travel more vehicle miles annually per commuter than the state average and other major urban counties. More hours spent in traffic means more air pollutants and greenhouse gases being emitted from those vehicles. Additionally, according to the American Lung Association’s 2021 “State of the Air” report, the San Diego region is the 7th area in the nation with the most ozone pollution.

On October 6, San Diegans can come together as a community to take action to clean up our air and reduce pollution from cars: more San Diegans driving electric vehicles (EV) and more San Diegans taking public transit (especially zero and near-zero emissions transit!). California Clean Air Day is the perfect opportunity take public transit for the first time or to learn about EVs and maybe even go for a test drive!

2021 San Diego Regional Working Group

Chair

Nathan Fletcher, Supervisor, San Diego County

Tena Abrams, Sharp Healthcare

Dike Anyiwo, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce

Everett Au, San Diego Foundation

Oscar Campos, San Diego County Office of Education

Brian Elliott, Office of Councilmember Chris Ward

Valerie Fanning, UC San Diego, Department of Environmental Health & Safety

Nadia Guerrero, Watkins Wellness

Rina Harosh, Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma

Deborah Jones, SANDAG

Morgan Justice-Black, SDG&E

Fabiola Lao, Center for Sustainable Energy

Barbara Ledesma, SANDAG/iCommute

Helen Neppes, Scripps Health

Erika Saari, Steer Group

Emily Wier, Office of Supervisor Nathan Fletcher