|
Press
Release - April 24, 2005
|
|---|
|
State
and Consumer Services Agency Secretary Aguiar For Immediate Release Sacramento - Secretary Fred Aguiar gave the keynote address in Fresno at the Valley Clean Air Now (CAN) Business Expo. He took the opportunity to commend area businesses and organizations for their efforts to clean up the air. Clean air makes our state a more desirable place to live, visit or to locate a business," said Secretary Aguiar. "Government can only push so hard, ultimately it is your voluntary actions that will lead to significant changes." Emceed by Valley CAN President Octavia Diener, the business expo was hosted at the Fresno Convention Center. Steve Newvine, President of the Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce, also spoke to an assembled group of more than 100 business and community leaders. In March, Governor Schwarzenegger kicked off the Help California Breathe Easier Campaign which focuses on the connection between high-polluting vehicles and negative health effects, particularly on children. Breathe Easier also promotes the Bureau of Automotive Repair's Consumer Assistance Program (CAP), that will pay vehicle owners $1,000 to retire their polluting vehicle or up to $500 toward smog-related repairs. The goal of CAP is to take 15,000 high polluting vehicles off California roadways by July 1, 2006. Crushing these vehicles will reduce the number of smog-forming pollutants by 900 tons. According to the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), one of every ten children in California suffers from respiratory disease. The California Department of Health Services reports that asthma hospitalizations cost Californians $480 million in 2000. Each year, 15,000 children are hospitalized because of asthma, which is the leading cause of school absenteeism and missed work days for parents. To
find out if drivers qualify or to obtain a CAP application, people
can call (800) 952-5210 or they can visit http://www.breatheeasier.ca.gov/.
Information is available in both English and Spanish. ### |
