Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Public Policy Analysis

Second Department

Biology

Reader 1

Keri Wilson

Reader 2

Leila Safavi

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2026 JJ Hoffman

Abstract

Across the United States, air pollution disproportionately impacts minority groups. California’s Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) waiver was positioned to lead to significant environmental justice impacts, such as reductions in emissions and adverse health outcomes, by establishing stricter regulations for vehicle emissions and ensuring that 100 percent of new passenger vehicle sales are zero-emission by 2035. As the federal government recently nullified ACC II, pollution, and by extension health, could worsen, especially in disadvantaged communities. The thesis established several important relationships, including how disadvantaged communities experienced higher traffic, pollution, and worse health outcomes than non-disadvantaged communities. Though the results indicate that traffic might not be the major contributor to PM2.5 pollution in disadvantaged communities, the relationship between more air pollution and worse health is observed when compared with non-disadvantaged communities. Therefore, while ACC II would have had reduced air pollution and adverse health outcomes, particularly in disadvantaged communities, its primary focus on cars may not have yielded significant reductions in pollution in disadvantaged communities.

Download

Share

COinS