"How online shopping affects rural communities", 20 Nov 2018

...In the last decade, as the rapid growth of e-commerce has created a...demand for logistics facilities,...portion of Southern California has become one of the nation’s largest hubs for warehouses...

On October 26, Earthjustice filed a lawsuit...on behalf of the local Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, alleging that the review process for the Slover project...didn’t properly factor in air pollution and traffic impacts.  The lawsuit highlights how, in a retail economy increasingly dictated by e-commerce and home delivery, the downsides can often be out of sight...The quickening pace of warehouse development...is often concentrated in smaller, rural areas...

...Opponents of these warehouses point to the dangers of diesel pollution from a constant stream of trucks coming too and from these large facilities.  Health studies have shown that children who live near heavy traffic, and are exposed to particulate pollution from heavy trucks and diesel engines, develop higher incidences of health problems such as asthma...

Bloomington has been hit particularly hard by the warehouse boom...In a region with scattered farmland and horses running through fields, these large warehouses are taking root close to schools and residences.  These areas have some of the worst air pollution in the state, so increased road usage...contributes to an already-serious problem...