That is why the Medical Alliance for Healthy Air, the Sierra Club, and Latino Issues Forum, brought in the Earthjustice team in 2001 to demand full enforcement of the Clean Air Act.

Air pollution exacerbates asthma attacks, increases the risk of heart attacks, and results in emergency room visits and lost workdays. Poor air quality also hurts agriculture by reducing crop resistance to disease and lowering productivity. Air pollution can be especially tough on the Latino community, many of whose members do not have access to health care or are unable to communicate with non-Spanish-speaking health care providers.

Threatened with Earthjustice lawsuits, the EPA revised the San Joaquin Valley’s ozone status from “serious” to "severe.” Earthjustice lawsuits also compelled the EPA to demand an end to California agriculture’s 60-year exemption from clean air laws, and agribusiness is fighting every step of the way. Earthjustice will continue its legal work in our ongoing efforts to improve the region’s public health.