LowEmissionAsphalt-136pg-WhitePaper-May2023

P a g e | 101 but as a fundamental component of a CDR company’s social license — the perception that companies operate in ways that are credible, legitimate, and deserving of trust. By treating EJ as a dimension of carbon removal’s social license to operate, CDR companies can address global legacy emissions while improving livelihoods at the local level where projects operate. 219 – XPRIZE, Musk Foundation and Carbon180 For the paving industry this is not just an opportunity, it can and should be a call to arms. A rallying point behind why any or all of this really matters to us. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data shows that inner city children are seventeen (17x) more likely to suffer from asthma than suburban and rural children. The disease greatly inhibits their ability to have active, healthy bodies. They are ten times (10x) more likely to be obese and six times (6x) more likely to be diabetic. They are three times (3x) more likely to not finish high school. As adults, they are 7-9x more likely to encounter serious pulmonary and cardiovascular disease and their life expectancy is more than ten years shorter. Sure, there’s ample evidence that carbon and nitrogen emissions may be causing sea levels to rise and our weather to become more volatile and less predictable. That debate should remain robust. But it is a debate on how much and over what timeframe are excessive and how much may need to be reduced or removed. When it comes to the impact emissions and heat sinks have on air and water quality in our cities, there is no debate. The magnitude of this daunting health crisis is a fact; we know exactly who is most affected; and by how much. Most industries and product categories require community engagement not necessarily because they require feedback to improve their product’s environmental, ecological and health effects. It is because their products too often require very aggressive shifts in consumer behavior to execute positive changes and tangible outcomes. This is perhaps their most difficult issue to overcome. But cleaner, more sustainable roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, and parking structures don’t require any change in consumer behavior. They only require a change in our approach to designing, building, and maintaining them. 219 From The Ground Up, Recommendations for Building an Environmentally Just Carbon Removal Industry , February 2023.