WHEREAS Texas created regional water and transportation plans for development of urban areas and adjacent rural counties;

• Texas is the home of many experienced scientists and engineers in hydrogeology, transportation, and public health;
• General property tax revenue is a major source of funds for public institutions of higher learning, public transportation, and management of the public drinking water supply;
• Surface and underground drinking water supplies are commonly polluted with urban and industrial wastes, that were released into the surface water or injected underground;

WHEREAS urban regions in Texas are consistently out of compliance with federal and state Ambient Air Quality environmental regulations;

• Air pollution aggravates both respiratory and cardiovascular related diseases, according to the scientific community, Texas Department of Health, and Texas Commission of Environmental Quality;
• Air pollutants are acknowledged by both the scientific community and the city, county, and state Departments of Health and Texas Commission of Environmental Quality as exacerbating both respiratory and cardiovascular related disease in the human population.
• Vehicles and industry are the leading sources of hazardous air emissions;
• Texas is the home of many experienced scientists and engineers in transportation, aerospace, and public health;
• General property tax revenue is the primary source of funds for public institutions of higher learning and regulatory agencies,

WHEREAS urban regions in Texas are consistently out of compliance with federal and state Ambient Air Quality environmental regulations;

• More than 5 million people in the urban regions in Texas live daily in poor to toxic air quality;
• Air pollution is known to aggravate respiratory congestion and impair the immune system in as little as seven (7) hours of exposure;
• Emissions from industry, dust, heavy vehicular traffic, and smoke comprise the factors contributing to poor regional air quality;
• Air quality management needs measurements and an appropriate baseline in order to monitor and enforce regulations;
• EPA, TCEQ, and cities have air monitors that measure specific pollutants.
• Health code regulations use an arbitrary basis/baseline for measuring emissions,
• Known toxic chemicals occur commonly at much higher levels in the atmosphere than health limits allow as a direct result of an arbitrary basis/baseline;

WHEREAS urban regions in Texas are consistently out of compliance with federal and state Ambient Air Quality regulations;

• Poor quality air has a direct effect on a community's health , particularly among individuals with chronic illnesses such as respiratory problems.
• Urban regions modify major transporation projects within the city;
• Vehicle air pollution (gas, particles and noise) is known to aggravate respiratory and cardiovascular related diseases;
• The law exempts roads from air monitoring; heavy vehicular traffic, long driving times, emissions from industry, dust, and smoke comprise the factors contributing to poor air quality;

WHEREAS urban regions in Texas are consistently out of compliance with federal and state Ambient Air Quality regulations;

• Vehicle air pollution is acknowledged as aggravating both respiratory and cardiovascular related diseases;
• Automobiles in counties, that not in compliance with ambient air quality regulations, are subject to an annual auto air emissions test and a fee for license renewal;
• Diesel trucks are exempt from the state's vehicle emissions test program for license renewal;

WHEREAS urban regions in Texas are consistently out of compliance with federal and state Ambient Air Quality environmental regulations;

• Air pollution aggravates both respiratory and cardiovascular related diseases, according to the scientific community, Texas Department of Health, and Texas Commission of Environmental Quality;
• Regulatory compliance needs to specify and monitor living public health measures that are enforcable for the federal and state air quality programs,
• Reasonable health measures includes incidences of aggrevation, inflamation, irritation, or burning of the skin, eyes, ears, nose, throat or lungs

These resolutions were all developed by the Environmental Initiative of the Houston Region Democrats.

Some were originally presented and passed by the Harris County Democratic Party Executive Committee in June 2005, in a form that dealt with Harris County.  Those resolutions were modified to address statewide issues and additional resolutions were added.

For information on these, contact Stephanie Hrabar, Ph. D.: shrabar{at}wt{dot}net, 713-683-0638.

Note:  This is an old resolution that has been superceded by a new version.  See http://www.paa-tx.org/node/1495  

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT the Harris County Democratic Party supports:

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT the Harris County Democratic Party supports:

• Appropriate science-based air quality standards for the Houston Region that will result in safer indoor and outdoor air for all humans to breathe.
• Environmental assessments that include protection for human health based on appropriate health and life science peer reviewed studies.
• An environmental economic formula that includes an environmental assessment that will protect both public revenues and public health for publicly funded transportation and development
  

FACTS TO SUPPORT THE RESOLUTION:

To get a copy of this resolution formatted for printing, so you can take it with you to your precinct convention, click on the link in the Attachment box below.

Whereas coal-burning utilities contaminate lakes with mercury and present a health hazard to children and pregnant women; and