Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas (CFROG), has installed six new air quality monitors across West Ventura and Oxnard, expanding access to air quality data in local frontline communities. Each monitor measures concentrations of Ozone (O3), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Particulate Matter (PM 10, PM 2.5), and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) at the monitoring locations listed below. All data collected by these monitors can be viewed anytime at www.myvcair.org, a public-facing, user-friendly, bilingual website displaying neighborhood-specific air quality data in near real-time. Users can also find more information on the pollutants being monitored, including what they are, where they come from, how they impact climate and human health, and how community members can protect themselves on poor air quality days.
This network of air quality monitors and the related website are managed by CFROG as part of their My People, My Air (Mi Gente, Mi Aire) community air monitoring project, and is supported by a Community Air Grant from the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Bringing together a broad and diverse group of local partners and community members, this project aims to increase the spatial resolution of local air quality monitoring efforts. Specifically focusing on areas disproportionately impacted by fossil fuel extraction and combustion, CFROG has partnered with Patagonia Inc., Clínicas del Camino Real, Ventura Housing, California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI), and the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) to install air quality monitors at the following locations:
- Ventura Housing – Westview II (237 W. Warner St. Ventura, CA)
- Patagonia Ironworks Headquarters (259 S. Olive St. Ventura, CA)
- Clínicas del Camino Real – La Colonia (801 Cooper Rd. Oxnard, CA)
- Clínicas del Camino Real – Maravilla (450 W. Clara St. Oxnard, CA)
- VCAPCD El Rio Station – Rio Mesa High School (545 Central Ave. Oxnard, CA)
- CSUCI Campus – Sierra Hall (42 Ventura St. Camarillo, CA)
All monitoring locations were selected by local residents on the project’s Community Advisory Committees in West Ventura and Oxnard, who ensure that community needs, concerns, and priorities are centered throughout this project. To learn more and request to join a Community Advisory Committee, visit www.cfrog.org/mobilize-communities-for-clean-air/.
This project is providing essential data to fill community-specific gaps in Ventura County’s regulatory monitoring network. Currently, the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) hosts an array of five regulatory-grade monitors across the county, leaving many communities without comprehensive air quality data.
The VCAPCD is a vital partner in this project, providing technical support and expertise. Sam Michie, Air Monitoring Division Manager with VCAPCD remarked, “The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District is pleased to continue its partnership with CFROG on the My People, My Air initiative—an exemplary model of collaborative, community-centered air quality monitoring. This project represents a strategic alignment of advocacy, public education, and technological assessments, aimed at empowering residents and fostering long-term improvements in community health.”
Dr. Sean Anderson, a professor of Environmental Science and Resource Management at CSUCI and partner in the My People, My Air project, notes “To understand if a given amount of pollution might make us sick, we must first document the types and amounts of potential toxins in our local area. This is challenging due to technical constraints and recent regulatory curtailment by the federal government. This has been particularly true in and around communities historically exposed to the highest pollution levels. This project is providing valuable, community-specific data that allows us to better understand the local air quality landscape in our region and, in turn, better inform decision-making processes that protect community health. Seeing the world as it really is allows us to responsibly move forward with fact-based interventions when and if they are needed. This is how responsible public health works. This is how we all get better.”
By increasing the number of high-quality air monitoring stations in West Ventura and Oxnard, CFROG and local partners are leading the way towards robust community-driven science and advocacy efforts to protect our health, economy, and climate. “This project isn’t simply about collecting data and measuring pollutant concentrations – this is about justice,” says Abrah Steward, Program Manager at CFROG. “We are helping to build capacity that ensures the decision-making power is in the hands of the communities most impacted by pollution from the oil and gas industry. These data have real human impacts – we pay for this pollution with our health. My People, My Air works to contextualize that data within the lived experiences of community members, creating a space for people-centered solutions to emerge. Community voices are the driving force behind everything we are doing here.”
To learn more about CFROG visit www.cfrog.org. To learn more about My People, My Air (Mi Gente, Mi Aire) and view community-specific pollution data in near real-time, visit www.myvcair.org.
My People, My Air (Mi Gente, Mi Aire) is supported by the “California Climate Investments” (CCI) program, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Invest, formerly known as Cap-and-Trade, dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment–particularly in disadvantaged communities.
