California Makes Air Pollution Visible: Launching the Statewide Mobile Monitoring Initiative

Yesterday, we proudly joined the California Air Resources Board (CARB), community leaders, and advocates from across the state to officially launch the Statewide Mobile Monitoring Initiative (SMMI)—a first-of-its-kind effort to bring real-time, hyperlocal air pollution data to the communities that need it most.

Backed by California Climate Investments, SMMI puts cap-and-trade dollars to work, representing the next chapter in California’s commitment to environmental equity, public health, and climate accountability. Together with CARB, Aclima is deploying a fleet of sensor-equipped vehicles to monitor air quality across 64 communities, prioritizing areas that have been historically overburdened and underserved.

As Aclima CEO and co-founder, Davida Herzl said at the event, “Let this moment be remembered as the day California made air pollution visible.”

This initiative goes far beyond data. It’s a community-powered model built around partnership, trust, and transparency. From the Central Valley to South Los Angeles, local organizations helped design monitoring plans, guided outreach, and shaped the very questions we’re asking of the air. And yesterday, they took the mic.

Shante Walker of The Niles Foundation called SMMI a tool to demand accountability in communities long impacted by toxic exposure: “Clean air is not a luxury. It is a basic human right.”

Kathy Saechou of Valley Vision reflected on how the initiative uplifts voices across Sacramento’s immigrant and working-class neighborhoods: “We all want to breathe clean air, and we all want to feel like our concerns are heard and valued.”

Miguel Alatorre Jr. of UNIDOS Network shared how the process itself brought dignity and inclusion to Kettleman City: “For the first time, residents were not only consulted—they were centered.”

Their words and work underscore why this initiative matters. SMMI turns the tide, making the problem visible and the path forward collective.

We’re grateful to CARB and CalEPA for their leadership, to our research partners at UC Berkeley and UC Riverside, and to the many community organizations who continue to lead the way.

This is only the beginning. But it's a powerful one. Together, we’re building a future where everyone knows what’s in the air they breathe and has the tools to make it cleaner.