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4.5 – Greenhouse Gas Emissions
<br />Draft Environmental Impact Report February 2021
<br />14800 W. Schulte Road Logistics Center 4.5-7
<br />Ocean and Coastal Ecosystems and Resources. Sea-level rise, changing ocean conditions, and other climate
<br />change stressors are likely to exacerbate long-standing challenges related to ocean and coastal ecosystems, in
<br />addition to threatening people and infrastructure located along the California coastline and in coastal communities.
<br />Sea-level rise, in addition to more frequent and severe coastal storms and erosion, is threatening vital infrastructure
<br />such as roads, bridges, power plants, ports and airports, gasoline pipes, and emergency facilities, as well as
<br />negatively impacting coastal recreational assets such as beaches and tidal wetlands.
<br />Public Health. Climate change can impact public health through various environmental changes, and is the largest threat
<br />to human health in the twenty-first century. Changes in precipitation patterns affect public health primarily through
<br />potential for altered water supplies, and extreme events such as heat, floods, droughts, and wildfires. Increased
<br />frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme heat and heat waves are likely to increase the risk of mortality due to heat-
<br />related illness, as well as exacerbate existing chronic health conditions. Other extreme weather events are likely to
<br />negatively impact air quality and increase or intensify respiratory illness, such as asthma and allergies.
<br />Transportation. Although the transportation industry is a source of GHG emissions, it is also vulnerable to climate
<br />change risks. Increasing temperatures and extended periods of extreme heat threaten the integrity of the roadways
<br />and rail lines. High temperatures cause the road surfaces to expand, which leads to increased pressure and
<br />pavement buckling. High temperatures can also cause rail breakages, which could lead to train derailment. Other
<br />forms of extreme weather events, such as extreme storm events, can negatively impact infrastructure, which can
<br />impair movement of peoples and goods, or potentially block evacuation routes and emergency access roads.
<br />Increased wildfires, flooding, erosion risks, landslides, mudslides, and rockslides can all profoundly impact the
<br />transportation system and pose a serious risk to public safety.
<br />Water. Climate change could seriously impact the timing, form, amount of precipitation, runoff patterns, and frequency
<br />and severity of precipitation events. Higher temperatures reduce the amount of snowpack and lead to earlier
<br />snowmelt, which can impact water supply availability, natural ecosystems, and winter recreation. Water supply
<br />availability during the intense dry summer months is heavily dependent on the snowpack accumulated during the
<br />winter. Increased risk of flooding has a variety of public health concerns, including water quality, public safety, property
<br />damage, displacement, and post-disaster mental health problems. Prolonged and intensified droughts can also
<br />negatively groundwater reserves and result in increased overdraft and subsidence. The higher risk of wildfires can
<br />lead to increased erosion, which can negatively impact watersheds and result in poor water quality.
<br />4.5.2 Relevant Plans, Policies, and Ordinances
<br />Federal
<br />Massachusetts v. EPA.
<br />In Massachusetts v. EPA (April 2007), the U.S. Supreme Court directed the EPA administrator to determine whether
<br />GHG emissions from new motor vehicles cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to
<br />endanger public health or welfare, or whether the science is too uncertain to make a reasoned decision. In
<br />December 2009, the administrator signed a final rule with the following two distinct findings regarding GHGs under
<br />Section 202(a) of the federal Clean Air Act:
<br />• The Administrator found that elevated concentrations of GHGs—CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, and SF6—in the
<br />atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations. This is the
<br />“endangerment finding.”
<br />• The Administrator further found the combined emissions of GHGs—CO2, CH4, N2O, and HFCs—from new
<br />motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines contribute to the GHG air pollution that endangers public
<br />health and welfare. This is the “cause or contribute finding.”
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