Most people aren’t aware that September 25th is World Lung Day. This is a global campaign to raise awareness about lung health and the urgent need to reduce the burden of respiratory diseases. Most people also aren’t aware that we can all play a role in reducing the burden of lung disease simply by driving electric vehicles (EVs).
Let me explain. The federal Clean Air Act is the law that authorizes the federal government to regulate emissions from industrial and transportation sources. In 1970 this law significantly expanded this responsibility, and it assigned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), which was created that same year, to implement the act.
But seven years earlier, when the Clean Air Act was first adopted, there was no US EPA or any federal agency responsible for the environment. In Southern California in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, there were days when the smog was so thick people literally couldn’t see the buildings across the street. Their throats and eyes burned from the dirty air just by going outside.
So, when the original Clean Air Act was written in 1963, it was to be implemented by the U.S. Public Health Service. This brief history lesson highlights that when air pollution became the major issue in our region, it was not initially viewed as an environmental problem; air pollution was a public health problem. In my view, it still is.
So when we advocate for the public to switch to driving electric vehicles, and for local governments and local businesses to convert their equipment to newer equipment that has zero-emissions, we are not just promoting new technology. We are promoting a strategy to improve the region’s public health.
Southern California contains several factors that, when combined, actually increases the amount and duration of air pollution in our region. We have an extensive freeway system that is often filled with bumper-to-bumper traffic. We are a goods movement hub, so our ports, our freeways, and our railways, attract highly-polluting ships, trains, and trucks bringing goods from abroad, and then reloading them for distribution to the other 49 states.
To add to this, our natural topography includes many hills, valleys and canyons, which are similar to large “bowls” or “basins” that capture pollution. Our region also has an inversion layer, an atmospheric condition where a layer of warm air sits atop cooler air below. The warm layer acts like a lid on these “bowls” trapping pollutants in.
These pollutants, which primarily come from the tailpipes of gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles, mix together and are heated by the sun, resulting in haze (particulates) and smog (ground level ozone) that harms our health and our quality of life. The pollutants inflame our airways, reduce lung function, and trigger asthma attacks—effects felt most by the children, older adults, pregnant people, outdoor workers, and communities living closest to our freeways and freight routes.
But the solution is right in front of us. Researchers at USC Keck determined that EVs are good for our health. For every 20 EVs per 1,000 people, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) in the air decreased and asthma-related emergency department visits dropped by 3.2 %.
When EVs replace gasoline and diesel-fueled cars, buses, delivery vans, and short haul big rig trucks, the benefits are immediate and local. There is less roadside pollution, a reduction in school-day spikes of pollution near drop-off zones, and cleaner air for neighborhoods bordering the I-710, the ports, and major interchanges.
As more people drive EVs and the charging infrastructure expands, we’re not just cutting carbon emissions—we’re reducing the tailpipe pollutants most strongly linked to asthma, COPD flare-ups, cancer, heart disease, stroke, birth defects, and even a shorter lifespan.
So more zero-emission vehicles mean healthier Southern Californians. In other words, clean transportation is lung health.
Southern California’s charging landscape is changing to support this shift. Public fast chargers are appearing along major corridors and in city centers, while workplace and multifamily charging are growing to serve residents who can’t plug in at home.Transit agencies are transitioning to battery-electric buses; school districts are purchasing electric school buses that cut diesel exhaust from the daily ride; and warehouse fleets are testing electric yard tractors and big rigs.
The advantages of zero-emission transportation extend beyond the tailpipe. Quieter streets reduce stress and improve the outdoor environment for walking and cycling. Lower operating and maintenance costs free up household and agency budgets for health, education, and services.
With vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home technology, parked EVs can support the grid during peak hours or keep essential devices powered during outages—vital for residents who rely on medical equipment. And as California’s electricity mix keeps getting cleaner, every mile driven electric delivers deeper climate and air-quality gains.
Clearly, to ensure everyone breathes easier, the transition must be equitable. That means more chargers in apartment-dense neighborhoods, fair electricity rates, accessible financing, affordable used-EV markets, and clean-air investments in communities most exposed to freight and freeway emissions. And finally, we need to ensure that we are training a skilled workforce—installers, electricians, mechanics—for tens of thousands of good local jobs in the green sector.
By choosing zero-emission options for our commutes, deliveries, and school runs—and by advocating for policies and programs that make these choices easy—we are cutting pollution at the source. Cleaner air means healthier lungs. For Southern California, that’s not a promise for the future; it’s a change we are driving toward today.
In health,
Marc Carrel
CEO, President
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