events seem to be ordered into an ominous logic

David Hockney (British, 1937-2026), Ossie Wearing a Fairisle Sweater, 1970. Coloured pencil on paper, 43.18 x 35.56 cm.

A project years in the works, the I-580 Truck Access Study is actually a collection of studies that will measure traffic patterns, air quality, and noise impacts, and conduct a racial equity assessment, all to help the state determine whether to lift the decades-long ban on semi-trucks on the highway.  The latter part of the study might be the most significant, since revoking the ban is being considered because trucking on other Oakland freeways has negatively affected the health of the mainly low-income, mostly Black, brown, and Asian communities they pass through.  Pollution from the I-880 Nimitz freeway, in particular, has been found to cause short- and long-term health complications for local residents, while communities next to the I-580 have lived in a cleaner environment.  “ West Oakland is one of the most impacted communities in California,” said Cameron Oakes, the state’s deputy district director of transportation. “Their diesel exhaust exposure is in the 95th percentile for the whole state. They also have some of the highest asthma rates in the state.”  The Caltrans officer said that East Oakland, which the I-880 also passes through, likewise has some of the “highest diesel pollution in the state and also is suffering from some of the highest asthma rates in the state,” with 20% of that diesel pollution coming from trucks. [...] Air regulators for the state have found that living within 500 feet of a highway can lead to higher rates of cancer, asthma, poor lung function, and even premature births. Some environmental experts have said that pollution can be harmful for those who live up to 1,000 feet from a highway. 

On the one hand: yes West Oakland is a choking toxic pit. Yes this is a clear case of geographic racial inequity where old white people at the meeting are literally saying "not in my backyard" (slightly complicated by the fact that 580 is traditionally the dividing line between the poor Oakland flatlands and the wealthy hills, which means half the people potentially impacted by this live on the poor side)