I wrote this for the Franklin Goose Blog but wanted to share since this is a very important topic right now!
With 4 months until elections and the finalization of the EPA’s first-ever national policy created to reduce mercury emissions from the electricity sector, Franklin Goose has teamed up with Moms Clean Air Force to help educate parents on clean air and how we can protect our children.
I attended a webinar a few weeks ago hosted by Moms Clean Air Force and have been blown away by the discussion ever since. Before I attended, I had no idea that mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickle, and other chemicals were released into the air from coal mined plants.
According to Moms Clean Air Force, “American coal plants produce 386,000 tons of hazardous air pollutants every year. These poisons affect every part of the human body, leading to disease, birth defects, brain damage, premature death and cancers. Children are especially vulnerable.”
The webinar was hosted by Dominique Browning, author of Slow Love, blogger at Slow Love Life, former editor-in-chief of House & Garden, and lead blogger for the Moms Clean Air Force. Jessica Capshaw, star of “Grey’s Anatomy”, and Vickie Patton, General Counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund also joined the discussion. You can catch a video of the webinar here.
After listening to these amazing women speak and doing a little research on my own, I knew this was something that Franklin Goose needed to be a part of. We have 4 months before election time and the EPA has introduced a rule called the “Mercury and Air Toxic Standards,” which will hopefully be finalized in November 2011. This is the first-ever national policy created to reduce mercury emissions from the electricity sector!
You can see a map of all coal mined plants in North America by clicking here. You can also check the grade of your city’s air quality here.
I was rather shocked at what I learned by just visiting those sites. It made me start thinking about all of the children I know with breathing problems like asthma. I also have known several non-smokers that died from lung cancer. All of these things started making me think more about the effect of our air on our health and well being. Then when we had consecutive code orange air quality days, I decided it was time to start writing my local government officials as well as getting more involved with our air quality.
I know that some parents don’t have the time to write their officials, but you can help by:
- Telling the EPA that you support the new Mercury & Air Toxic Standards
- Follow @MomsCAF and @FranklinGoose to get the latest updates about actions in Congress, newly released reports about air pollutants and toxicity, events, blog posts and much more
- Join Moms Clean Air Force on Facebook and share their page with your networks. The more parents that know, the better
- If you have a personal story or experience with polluted air or its health impacts, share it here. They will be collected and sent to Congress. Please limit your submissions to 500 words
Franklin Goose is now a proud ally and partner with Moms Clean Air Force and we hope that you will get involved! If you have any ideas on how parents can get more involved, please let us know!
What is the rating of your city? Are there any coal fired plants near where you live?
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