DULUTH, MN (Northern News Now) – Two members of the Duluth City Council joined environmental and public health advocates in pushing for stronger clean car standards and reducing harmful tailpipe emissions.
Duluth Councilors Mike Mayou and Wendy Durrwachter led a virtual meeting Thursday calling on the Biden Administration and EPA to finalize the strongest federal clean car standards by the end of this month.
As part of Minnesota’s journey toward a zero-emission future, the state tracks and provides rebates on electric vehicle sales. According to J. Drake Hamilton, the Senior Director of Science Policy and a member of Governor Walz’s Advisory Council on Climate Change, Minnesotans bought more than 6,600 thousand new Electric vehicles in 2023.
Health experts during the virtual press conference also addressed the health benefits. Berg Ellenberger is a nurse with Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, she says,” tailpipe emissions increase the amount of lung damage.”
They also see the harmful effects of tailpipe emissions for those already suffering from respiratory conditions like asthma and impacts to cardiovascular health.
It is estimated that these new standards, if implemented as originally drafted, would result in an estimated 67% of all new car and light duty truck sales being EVs by 2032.
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