It’s not easy to get around without a car. Latine communities know that better than anyone. Compared to white households, Latines are twice as likely to not have access to a private vehicle, and nearly three times more likely to rely on public transit to get to and from work.

Though Latines are not major contributors to rush hour traffic, their communities are among the most impacted by the deadly health effects of tailpipe pollution. Latine children are three times more likely than white children to live in counties with low air quality. In some parts of the country, communities can face up to 75 percent higher rates of exposure to harmful tailpipe pollution than white residents.

We must face the facts — air pollution from vehicles is literally making us sick and killing us. Tailpipe pollution has been linked to nearly 2 million new cases of childhood asthma every year. Nationally, Latine children are 40 percent more likely to die from asthma than white children. It’s hard to grasp the scale of the tragedy being inflicted onto our families. Clearly, something needs to change.

Envisioning a pollution-free future for Nevada isn’t a matter of imagination; the data is already in. According to the American Lung Association, implementing zero-emission transportation and electricity resources across the state would produce $7.5 billion in public health value by 2050, including the prevention of 78,900 lost work days, 14,800 asthma attacks, and 676 premature deaths from lung disease, heart disease and cancer.

In addition to the vast public health benefits, expanding access to pollution-free vehicles is the right thing to do at a time when families are struggling to pay the bills and most Latine Nevadans consider inflation to be their top concern. Charging an electric vehicle at home in Las Vegas is the equivalent of paying $0.41 per gallon of gasoline, and EVs save about 50 percent on repairs and maintenance over the vehicle’s lifetime. Initiatives that make it easier for working families to afford an EV, such as the federal $7,500 cash incentive, unlock transformative savings for households that are being forced to make the impossible choice between half a tank of gas or a bag of groceries.

Fortunately, we’re gradually getting closer to a pollution-free future. At the start of this year, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded Nevada nearly $8 million to purchase electric school buses, directly bringing the benefits of clean air to children who live with pediatric asthma and other lung diseases.

State leadership is driving change as well. Last year saw the implementation of the Clean Cars Nevada program, which guides manufacturers toward lower-pollution vehicles, and the start of NV Energy’s Economic Recovery Transportation Electrification Plan (ERTEP), which invests nearly $100 million in EV charging access.

The EPA is currently considering the strongest-ever tailpipe pollution standards for cars, trucks, and buses. If adopted, these rules would ensure that the next generation of vehicles on our road emit far less health-harming pollution — and include many more electric models that emit no pollution at all. Now is the time for President Joe Biden and the EPA to finalize the strongest standards as swiftly as possible, so that Latine Nevadans don’t have to wait even longer for cleaner air and healthier communities.

Andrea Marpillero-Colomina is the sustainable communities program director at GreenLatinos.

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