Ashia v Diesel!

This transcript tells the deeply personal story of Ashia, whose life has been shaped by severe asthma attacks directly connected to diesel emissions in her Portland neighborhood. Starting at age eight at Boise L.A Elementary School in 2005, Ashia began experiencing asthma attacks coinciding with nearby construction equipment and the opening of the interstate max line. Her condition led to regular emergency room visits throughout her childhood and teenage years. The transcript weaves together Ashia's personal timeline with Oregon's legislative and regulatory response to diesel emissions. In 2005, despite federal funding for diesel retrofits, dirty engines in Oregon increased faster than they could be replaced. Governor Kulingowski created a voluntary diesel emissions reduction project in 2006, but no concrete actions were taken. The state legislature mandated health benchmarks and school bus cleanup, but from 2011-2015, diesel emission legislation was repeatedly blocked by industry lobbying. A significant turning point came when Ashia attended college in Louisiana from 2015-2016, where she felt dramatically better and even joined a professional dance company, only to get sick again each time she returned to Portland. After the state failed to meet its 10-year health goals and nearly half of Oregon's school children still rode dirty diesel buses, Ashia experienced her most traumatic health episode in 2017, landing in the ICU where she nearly died. Following public health reports and advocacy by organizations like NCA, some legislation finally passed to clean up trucks in the Portland metro area, but the state denied requests to address construction equipment that comprises 75% of diesel pollution. Ashia's final hospitalization in April 2020 lasted over a month, requiring months of recovery in Louisiana. Now working in a daycare, she advocates for children facing similar struggles with asthma.