In a growing clash between public health and industrial growth, hundreds of Inland Empire residents joined environmental justice advocates in downtown Riverside this week to protest the continued expansion of massive logistics warehouses. The demonstration comes on the heels of a stark warning from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), which flagged alarming spikes in air pollution—specifically PM2.5 levels—surrounding major logistics centers in cities like Moreno Valley and San Bernardino.
Health at the Center of the Fight
The AQMD report highlighted substantial increases in fine particulate matter, a known contributor to asthma, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic illnesses. These spikes are linked directly to emissions from diesel trucks servicing the region’s booming warehouse network. With Southern California home to one of the nation’s busiest logistics corridors, the concentration of freight activity in inland communities has turned once-suburban neighborhoods into pollution hotspots.
“We’re at an inflection point—health and industry must no longer be at odds,” said AQMD Chair Vanessa Delgado, underscoring the urgency for policy reform.
A Divided Political Response
While activists are demanding an immediate moratorium on the approval of new warehouse developments until enforceable air quality protections are in place, elected officials remain split. The San Bernardino City Council responded to public pressure by voting to delay two proposed warehouse projects, marking a small victory for activists. Meanwhile, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors has taken no formal action, prompting further criticism from community leaders who argue that delay is endangering residents’ health.
Organizer Jasmine Ruiz of the Inland Coalition for Equity delivered one of the protest’s most impactful messages: “Our children are breathing poison so someone else can get a two-day delivery.” Her remarks were met with loud applause from the assembled crowd, many of whom carried signs reading “People Over Profits” and “Stop the Warehouse Invasion.”
Industry Pushback
Not all stakeholders agree with the growing anti-warehouse sentiment. Jeff Elwell, spokesperson for the California Trucking Association, defended the logistics sector, saying, “We support clean air, but we can’t destroy our economy in the process.” He emphasized the industry’s role in providing thousands of local jobs and its increasing investments in cleaner technologies, including electric trucks and cargo-handling equipment.
Yet critics argue those measures fall short of what’s needed and fail to address the cumulative impact on low-income and historically marginalized neighborhoods. Many residents report higher-than-average rates of asthma and other respiratory ailments, which they attribute to the steady stream of heavy-duty trucks running day and night.
What Comes Next?
As regional authorities deliberate over how to balance economic development with environmental and public health, tensions are likely to escalate. The AQMD’s findings are expected to fuel further grassroots mobilization, as environmental groups and residents push for a comprehensive regional policy to limit warehouse proliferation and prioritize clean air.
The week’s events underscore a deeper reckoning underway in Southern California: a battle over who bears the costs of a global supply chain—and who gets to breathe clean air.
