TO THE EDITOR:
Reckless vehicle use can be deadly, even in ways invisible to the naked eye. Industrial vehicles are responsible for almost 7 percent of national greenhouse gas emissions, worsening climate change and local pollution. In Michigan, climate-induced drought stresses the state’s annual $100 billion agriculture industry. Meanwhile, for shipping vessels on the Great Lakes, every inch decrease in water levels can increase costs by up to $30,000 per vessel. The American Lung Association’s 2022 State of the Air report found the Detroit area to be the 16th most polluted city in the country in terms of year-round particle pollution. Action is needed to combat these threats.
Fortunately, a step toward resolution may be upon us. In April, the EPA proposed its Phase 3 policy update, which would tighten heavy-duty emission standards for 2027 through 2032 model year vehicles and require progress be made to electrify the national industrial fleet. These regulations are placed on manufacturers with minimal cost increases transferred to consumers because the EPA is simultaneously investing $1 billion in the effort.
Moreover, the EPA estimates that the benefits of Phase 3 exceed costs by as much as $320 billion. Society would attain approximately $87 billion in climate remediation, up to $29 billion from the resulting reduction in premature deaths and approximately $12 billion from the expansion of energy independence. Smart regulation can make the transit sector serve us better than ever before. It is time that industry be recentered around the needs of the people.
MATTHEW BAHARMAST, Climate researcher, Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass.
