By Wendy Bredhold

The Halloween season brought frightening images from China last week, as a “Smog Day” kept children inside their homes and away from school in Harbin, a city of 11 million people. Smog basically shut down the city because of dangerous levels of particulate pollution in the air.

It also brought word from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, that air pollution is definitely linked with cancer. This new fact is added to the terrible health effects from air pollution that can cause heart attacks, strokes, birth defects, and premature death, as well as mercury poisoning.

This news followed closely after the latest dire warnings about climate change from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Time is running short to prevent irreversible climate change.

There’s no shortage of scary news for parents these days. But in the coming weeks, we have the opportunity to give voice to our hopes as well as our fears for the future by attending one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s listening sessions on carbon pollution standards.

At these sessions, you can tell EPA why and how you think we should reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants – the number one cause of global warming. Reducing carbon pollution won’t just take us off the disastrous path toward a climate crisis, it will also prevent thousands of deaths and illnesses per year attributed to these plants.

Speak up. Testify. Someday, you can tell your grandchildren you helped save the world!

P.S. If you live in Indiana, join me in Chicago on Friday, November 8. The Sierra Club is sending a “Climate Bus” from Indianapolis, and we’ll rally near the EPA offices at noon. Email me for details at wbredhold@momscleanairforce.org.

TELL EPA TO STOP CARBON POLLUTION

By Molly Rauch

Right now, the Environmental Protection Agency is listening. EPA has set up listening sessions around the country to hear – from you – what it should do about our changing climate.

In these sessions, EPA is trying to “solicit ideas and input from the public and stakeholders about the best Clean Air Act approaches to reducing carbon pollution from existing power plants.”

Why is this so important? Because it’s one of the most significant ways our President can reduce our nation’s carbon dioxide emissions.

By issuing a Carbon Emissions Standard for Existing Power Plants, EPA will be able to regulate the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted from power plants. Around 40% of our nation’s carbon dioxide comes from power plants that are burning fossil fuels to make electricity. It’s the largest individual source of carbon pollution, and so it’s a crucial place to focus if we want to reduce the dangerous emissions that are warming our climate.

Power plants are currently required to limit their emissions of lead, mercury, and other toxic pollutants. The Supreme Court has established that carbon dioxide is a pollutant: it endangers human health and the environment, and, as a result, the EPA can regulate its emissions. The agency is on track to issue a proposed standard for carbon emissions from existing power plants in June, 2014.

EPA has already issued proposed standards for new power plants. But the new power plant standards will apply only to newly built plants. The carbon standards for existing power plants – the ones slated to be rolled out next June – will apply to all power plants currently in existence. They therefore will have a much greater impact on current, actual carbon dioxide emissions.

Now EPA is trying to figure out how strong those regulations should be.

That’s where moms and dads come into the picture.

These listening sessions will lay the groundwork for a strong, protective carbon pollution standard – but only if we speak up. About why we care about climate change. About our children’s health. About our children’s future. About why the industry message – that it’s harmful to our nation to limit carbon emissions – ignores our precious children, and discounts their future.

Moms Clean Air Force is going to be a strong presence at these sessions. Already, EPA has heard from compelling parent and grandparent voices in the New York listening session. And we’ve got parents signing up in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Washington. (Including me! I will be at the DC listening session, and am bringing a posse of moms and dads) Whether you are in those cities, or in the others listed below, please consider joining in. Let’s tell EPA that we want a strong carbon pollution standard for existing power plants.

EPA Listening Sessions

• Denver, CO: October 30
• Boston, MA: November 4
• Lenexa, KS: November 4
• San Francisco, CA: November 5
• Dallas, TX: November 7
• Seattle, WA: November 7
• Washington, DC: November 7
• Chicago, IL: November 8
• Philadelphia, PA: November 8

Contact us at climatevoices@momscleanairforce.org to learn more, get help with registering, or get help with preparing your comments. We are here to help you speak up for a healthy future!

TELL EPA TO STOP CARBON POLLUTION

By Liza Donnelly

Witches, goblins, ghosts…and air pollution? Scary stuff! This rings especially true this Halloween, with the recent announcement from the World Health Organization, which now classifies outdoor air pollution as a Group 1 carcinogen, along with tobacco smoke and ultraviolet radiation.

What can parents do to protect their children?

Get informed. READ and SHARE the resources below, and TAKE ACTION!

LEARN MORE:

OZONE

ASTHMA

SCHOOL AIR

SOOT AND BLACK CARBON

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

10 Tweetable Facts About Ozone

Cars And Trucks And Things That Go!

10 Tweetable Facts About Soot and Black Carbon

Free E-Book! Asthma Triggers: A Guide For Parents, Teachers, Doctors And Nurses

TELL EPA YOU SUPPORT NEW LIMITS ON CARBON POLLUTION FROM POWER PLANTS

By Karen Lee

According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween is a multi-billion dollar tradition with close to 3 billion dollars spent on costumes, $2.08 billion on candies, $360 million on greeting cards, and Halloween is second only to Christmas with $1.96 billion spent on festive decorations.

If this staggering stat is any indication, I’d say, Halloween is a mighty popular tradition. But for those with asthma or allergies, this popular holiday can be dangerous, even deadly. And I should know — my kids have allergies with mild asthma and we’ve always had to take these extra precautions during Halloween:

Here are 6 ways to prevent an asthma attack on Halloween:

1. Treats - What’s Halloween without treats?!? But many treats can be dangerous to those with allergies. If your child has severe allergies or asthma, consider throwing an allergy-free Halloween party at your house.
2. Costumes – Be mindful of plastic parts or paints that come with new costumes. They may contain toxic chemicals that can off gas and trigger an allergic reaction or an asthma attack. If you are using an old costume that was in storage, be careful of dust, dust mites, and molds. Thoroughly clean costumes before using. Then store them in air-tight, sealable containers for reuse.
3. Masks – Because masks are worn close to the face, they can trap allergy or asthma triggering chemicals close to the nose and mouths. This increases the chance of an attack. In addition, a full mask can make breathing harder and hot to wear. Consider having your child not wear a mask…or wear a half mask to make breathing easier.
4. Makeup – Halloween makeup often is made up of chemicals and dyes that may irritate lungs and skin. Look for hypoallergenic non-toxic.
5. Decorations - Avoid plastic decorations as much as possible. Use what you have at home already to make front porch decorations, {eco}-friendly ghosts, reusable Jack – Lanterns, and glass jar luminaries (great for illuminating walkways for trick or treaters.) Avoid paraffin wax candles. Some children are allergic to soy, so even soy candles can be harmful. Use LED reusable candles instead.
6. Trick or Treating - You advise your children NOT to enter the homes of strangers while trick or treating for safety reasons. Another reason children should not enter homes is that there may be pets, smokes, dust, or other irritants in the house that may trigger trigger asthma or an allergic reaction.

Halloween is a fun holiday, but don’t overlook the obvious and let your trick or treater suffer. Make sure your kids leave home with proper medicine — asthma inhaler or an epipen. If your child has a medical alert bracelet or a tag, Halloween is a perfect time for your little one to wear it.

How do you make Halloween safe for your child?

TELL CONGRESS TO PROTECT US FROM TOXIC CHEMICALS

By Moms Clean Air Force

The EPA is holding 11 public listening sessions across the country to solicit ideas and input from the public and stakeholders about the best Clean Air Act approaches to reducing carbon pollution from existing power plants. The Clean Air Act gives both EPA and states a role in reducing air pollution from power plants that are already in operation. The law directs EPA to establish guidelines, which states use to design their own programs to reduce emissions. Before proposing guidelines, EPA must consider how power plants with a variety of different configurations would be able to reduce carbon pollution in a cost-effective way. The feedback from these public listening sessions will play an important role in helping EPA develop smart, cost-effective guidelines that reflect the latest and best information available.

Here is the moving testimony from Anna Grossman, the founder and director of the Hudson River Park Mothers Group:

Good morning and thank you for the opportunity.

My name is Anna Grossman and I am here representing my children: Julian and Ella.

Last month my almost 10 year old son started 4th grade. One of the first exercises his teacher had the class do was to create a list of historical events the children thought had occurred in the past ten years.  The class came up with 19 events. One of them, of course, was that they were born. Out of the remaining 18 events, 5 were extreme weather events.

No single type of historical event on their list received more mentions than the extreme weather catastrophes the class had experienced themselves, or simply been touched by through news reports.

When I was ten, if my 4th grade teacher had asked the same question of my class, I don’t think any event listed would have been related to extreme weather or climate change.

The world our children have inherited is one that could keep any parent up at night.

Last year our family spent over a week without electricity, heat, or water in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Our streets and basements flooded with an unlikely mixture of water and sewage. We witnessed first hand the effect of extreme weather. We did what we could to help the elderly and to help folks repair their damaged homes.

It’s hard for me to explain to myself why my 4 year old daughter had her first  episode of Asthma this year, when we have absolutely no family history of it.

The World Health Organization has declared air pollution a human carcinogen and a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.

And this year my 66 year old mother was diagnosed with lung cancer.

It’s hard to accept that.

It’s hard to answer my son when he asks me why we still have a nuclear plant 30 miles north of us, when he knows what happened at Fukushima and Chernobyl. When we know about the thousands, if not millions, of illnesses and deaths caused by these two incidents.

And it’s impossible for me to explain to my children why many of the toxic chemicals that I make sure to keep them safe from, are allowed to be injected, without prior disclosure, in to their earth by Natural Gas Companies, posing an unacceptable risk to our water supplies and our air.

I cannot explain to my children why our country is actively pursuing natural gas extraction when this is yet another form of dirty fossil fuel energy that threatens their water, air, and food. I cannot explain to them why there are exemptions for hydraulic fracturing in the safe drinking water, clean air and clean water acts.

As a mother, it’s hard for me to explain to my children why our government, and the generations before them, have not been more proactive about transitioning from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy. That we’ve surpassed 350 parts per million of CO2.

What now ? Is it too late? My children ask.

I don’t have an answer.

Help me give my children an answer. Help me make a promise to them that the EPA has got their back and that things can get better. That it’s not too late.

When my son heard Professor Mark Jacobson of Stanford University speak about his plan for 100% renewables by 2030, I saw the joy of hope and promise in my child’s eyes.

Fossil fuel burning power plants are the single largest source of carbon pollution and as such, I am here because I strongly support the EPA’s proposal to limit industrial carbon pollution from new power plants.  To oppose these limits in any way would be unconscionable.

I am here on my children’s behalf to urge the EPA, and our government, to place stronger limits to reduce carbon pollution, and to implore you to move swiftly, and urgently away from fossil fuels.

Make coal, oil, nuclear energy, and hydraulic fracturing a thing of the past, and give my children back their basic human right to clean air, clean water, and uncontaminated food.

Thank you.

Anna Grossman is a mother of two young children residing in the Lower Manhattan portion of New York City. Her professional background includes several years working as a photo-journalist for news media as well as for various UN agencies. She has traveled worldwide on assignments related to social, environmental and economic issues photographing and attending UN conferences such as the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing 1995, and was the official photographer for Habitat II, the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements in 1996. Her work has been published in magazines such as Condé Nast Traveler and has graced the cover of Time Magazine. Anna is also the founder and director of the Hudson River Park Mothers Group, an organization dedicated to providing support and resources to mothers in Lower Manhattan through a peer to peer support network, an informative website, and educational and social events. In her spare time, Anna attends grassroots events and testifies at public hearings on issues related to chemical legislation reform, sustainable energy, and children’s health.

TELL EPA TO STOP CARBON POLLUTION

 

By Dominique Browning

Love is the answer.

The question: How do we nurture hope in the face of unremittingly bad news?

As I looked over my notes, thinking about this week’s letter to you, my heart broke again and again: Devastating Australian wildfires fueled by hot temperatures and unusual drought conditions. Beijing adopts emergency smog measures — Chinese air pollution so dense people cannot see past their hands. Warmer winters across North America and soaring tick populations, with moose populations in steep decline and many other species heading towards extinction, and a medically-established link between cancer and air pollution. Sometimes it feels like we need a miracle to stop the pollution that is changing our climate.

I won’t go on. Today, I want to focus on why we care about all this — and how much power we have to change it.

Where is our magic? Peter Pan tells us to save Tinkerbell by clapping our hands. Dorothy taps those ruby slippers and chants, “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.”

There is no place like home; it is the place we love. And that love is what keeps us going. We cherish this world, and we want our children to have their chance to love it.

Not a single day goes by that I do not pause in what I am doing to admire something absolutely positively marvelously incredibly amazing: the way a young woman guides a feeble old man slowly across the street, the way a praying mantis leans back on its spiky green haunches, the way the moon lights a path through the woods.

As in Oz, there is no powerful wizard. There is only a grumpy, human soul working behind a curtain. That would be…any of us, on many days.

We can only do our parts. Even if it seems a very little bit — a pull on a lever here, a yank at a crank there — it matters that we do our parts. We keep the love going.

Coal plant emissions are already dropping — partly because of natural gas. But those drops are not big enough to get us to safety. And we have to make sure methane, another potent greenhouse gas, isn’t turning out to be a bigger problem. And, we need a global effort — a renewable energy race of epic proportions. Luckily, there’s enough love of the world to go all the way round it.

Love — and hard work. That’s what makes miracles happen.

TELL EPA TO STOP CARBON POLLUTION

By Molly Rauch

I remember the first time I went to a big baby retail store. I saw thousands of products, many I hadn’t even known existed, all guaranteed to make my baby happier, sleepier, smarter, healthier, stronger, safer, quieter, cleaner, or prettier. It was my first exposure to the behemoth that is the baby products market, which sees profits in excess of $11 billion per year. (Three children later, I feel I’m personally responsibly for a sizable portion of that profit.)

What’s the problem with baby products?

There’s another side to the images of shiny, happy babies telegraphed so relentlessly in these stores. It’s the fact that some of the products on the shelves contain chemicals that are known or suspected health hazards to babies, and many more contain chemicals that have never been tested for safety. Furthermore, disclosure of chemical ingredients is purely voluntary, so parents have no information to work with.

Part of the problem is a flawed federal chemicals policy, which does not require adequate pre-market safety testing, nor does it require ingredient disclosure. But part of the problem is that these baby retailers are actually selling the stuff.

What’s your baby sleeping on?

A new report on baby mattresses highlights the need for retailers to take responsibility for the safety of the products on their shelves.

The report showed that fewer manufacturers are using chemical approaches to meeting infant crib mattress flammability standards compared to a similar report from two years ago. For that, “parents can take heart,” said Bobbi Chase Wilding, Deputy Director of Clean and Healthy New York, which authored the report. But the information about the chemicals in the mattresses is not readily available; Bobbi and her team had to do outreach to manufacturers and internet research to compile the information. None of it is available in-store.

Parents are therefore “in the dark about which products are safer and which contain chemicals or materials they might want to avoid,” Bobbi said.

Infant crib mattress manufacturers in the US are required to meet flammability standards for their products. Some meet the standard by soaking internal foam with flame retardant chemicals, many of which have been linked to serious health impacts, or using the heavy metal antimony. Others meet the standard by creating a flame barrier just beneath the surface of the mattress, to prevent fire from penetrating the product. Flame retardant chemicals may be sprayed or added to the flame barrier. The most troubling instance of that in the current report is a manufacturer that uses a fiberglass flame barrier with organohalogen flame retardants and the heavy metal antimony.

Are there healthy crib mattress alternatives?

A few manufacturers offer crib mattresses without either flame retardant chemicals or barriers. Pure wool is naturally flame retardant, and is used by some manufacturers as a flame barrier. The best thing a crib manufacturer can do, according to Bobbi, is to design products that are inherently less flammable. Mattresses that have a “low fuel load” are going to burn less quickly and require less chemical or physical fire prevention. These are mattresses that contain something other than foam — for example, inner spring mattresses.

What can we do to make sure our baby products are safe?

“This report points to the lack of attention companies have paid to the chemicals they are using in their products,” Bobbi told me. “We should be asking whether these chemicals should be used in the marketplace.”

To that end, Moms Clean Air Force has joined with a group of organizations to tell top baby retailers that it’s their responsibility, as stores that cater specifically to pregnant women and babies, to get hazardous chemicals off the shelves. Moms Clean Air Force has signed on to letters to Babies “R” Us and BuyBuyBaby, asking them to take hazardous chemicals off their shelves. Here’s what we wrote to Babies “R” Us:

“We are alarmed that chemicals of high concern are present in children’s products, and are found in the bodies of babies and children, in our food supply, in household dust and indoor air, and in the broader environment we all depend on to sustain all life. Although Babies “R” Us has taken a stand on removing BPA and PVC from certain of their product lines, scientists have established links between many other hazardous chemicals and a wide range of chronic diseases and disorders, such as cancer, reduced fertility, learning and developmental disabilities, behavioral problems, obesity, diabetes, and asthma. Therefore, we ask that Babies “R” Us now take additional steps to remove hazardous chemicals from the products you offer for sale.

You have the ability and responsibility as the world’s leading children’s products provider to work with your suppliers to stop selling products with hazardous chemicals and find truly safer alternatives. Doing so will not only please your customers, it will help you reduce the liability that may be associated with carrying toxic chemicals in your stores.”

Sent over a month ago, our coalition has not heard back from either store yet.

What do you expect from the stores you buy your baby products from?

TELL CONGRESS TO PROTECT US FROM TOXIC CHEMICALS

By Moms Clean Air Force

This was written by Lindsay Dahl, Deputy Director of Safer Chemicals Healthy Families:

Our first National Stroller Brigade, nearly a year-and-a-half ago, was about establishing a voice for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families on Capitol Hill. We needed to show Congress that we had the grassroots power behind our movement, and we did.

Today, more than ever, Congress needs a reminder of where we stand. We stand for protecting our families from toxic chemical pollution. We stand for an economy based on safer, less toxic chemicals.

In our quest for strong laws on toxic chemicals, we’re standing at a unique moment in history. The bill before the Senate, as drafted, doesn’t adequately protect pregnant women, children and vulnerable communities.

We want Congress to know clearly what kind of reform we’re asking for. We want reform that protects vulnerable populations, ensures the EPA can take action on notoriously toxic chemicals and moves us towards safer chemicals.

So what better a time to bring the Stroller Brigade back to Washington? And this time we’re stronger than ever.

The next question is…

Are you in?

Event details:

• When: October 29th, 2013 – 9:30 AM

• Where: U.S. Capitol Lawn, Washington D.C. (RSVP for exact location)

• What: Arrive at Capitol Hill 9:30 AM, Press conference at 10:00 AM, “Stroller Brigade” and meetings with Members of Congress to follow.

To register please sign up here: RSVP for the Stroller Brigade

Can’t participate in DC? No prob, sign up to join the online day of action!

TELL CONGRESS TO PROTECT US FROM TOXIC CHEMICALS

By Moms Clean Air Force

“Dressing up” as a kid with asthma does not require a costume for the nearly 7 million children in the United States that suffer from the disease. Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood, and the third-leading cause of hospitalizations among children under the age of 15. One important asthma trigger to be aware of is air pollution — nearly two-thirds of those suffering from asthma live in an area where at least one federal air-quality standard is not being met. The single largest source of carbon pollution are power plants, which is why it’s so important that we stand behind EPA’s limits on carbon pollution from power plants. Let’s ensure that the closest our future generations will come to “a boy with chronic asthma” is through costume –because asthma is no treat!

LEARN MORE:

ASTHMA

SCHOOL AIR

HOW MERCURY POISONING WORKS

FREE MCAF E-BOOKS:

ASTHMA TRIGGERS

ASTHMA GOES TO COLLEGE

Cartoon: Joe Mohr

TELL EPA YOU SUPPORT NEW LIMITS ON CARBON POLLUTION FROM POWER PLANTS

By Molly Rauch

Climate change is a pollution problem. Not only does climate change result from carbon pollution in our atmosphere, but climate change will also increase dangerous air pollution. That is one of the messages from last month’s IPCC report.

“Locally higher surface temperatures in polluted regions will trigger regional feedbacks in chemistry and local emissions that will increase peak levels of ozone and PM2.5.” – Climate Change 2013, Summary for Policymakers

These pollutants cause cancer, according to a new report from the World Health Organization, which classified outdoor air pollution as a Group 1 carcinogen, alongside the known carcinogens tobacco smoke and ultraviolet radiation. The World Health Organization estimates that outdoor air pollution caused 223,000 lung cancer deaths in 2010, and noted that it also likely increased incidence of bladder cancer. As air pollution increases in a changing climate, cancer incidence will also likely rise.

Ground level ozone pollution, or smog, is a serious health concern for other reasons as well. It is a powerful irritant that causes premature mortality, heart failure, increased hospital and emergency room visits, lung damage, and asthma attacks. Ozone forms when certain chemicals interact with heat and sunlight – a chemical reaction that could increase with hotter days. These chemical precursors to ozone, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and methane, result from cars, power plants, and industries that rely on fossil fuels for energy.

Fine particle pollution, or PM 2.5, is also a major health threat, linked to stroke, heart disease, premature birth, and low birth weight. It harms children in particular due to its link to adverse birth outcomes, and targets those living near heavily trafficked roadways – often the poorest among us.

In a warming world, the most significant environmental carcinogen – outdoor air pollution – will increase, triggering a host of other health problems alongside lung cancer: asthma attacks, stroke, heart disease, poor birth outcomes. When we talk about the health effects of climate change, we need to talk about this: The very air we breathe will become more and more dangerous to our health.

Another likely impact of our changing climate, according to the new IPCC report: Background surface ozone levels are predicted to increase on average by 8 ppb by 2100. This sounds like a small amount, so I asked Dr. Chris Portier, former director of the National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and currently senior contributing scientist at EDF, whether this would have an impact on human health.

“EPA’s standard for ozone is 75 ppb,” he wrote in an email. “Currently, the EPA is considering a new standard in the range of 60-70 ppb. Either way, an increase of 8ppb will put many communities into non-compliance and increase the number from 46 counties currently to a much larger number. This is a significant issue.”

Dr. Portier also emphasized that some people are particularly vulnerable to even small changes in air chemistry. There are factors that make normal ozone levels dangerous to some people, such as asthmatics. Raising background levels even relatively small amounts could trigger serious health issues among vulnerable populations.

The chemistry is complex, and “there is quite a bit of uncertainty in what will happen in any one locale with respect to ozone and PM,” writes Dr. Portier. But according to the IPCC, climate change will likely lead to increases in background surface ozone levels, and increases in ozone and PM 2.5 in polluted areas.

The IPCC, a scientific group under the auspices of the United Nations, compiles authoritative, technical, exhaustive reports on the science of global warming. The new report is authored by hundreds of scientists from dozens of countries.

The IPCC is certain humans have caused this process; now it’s up to us to stop it.

TELL EPA YOU SUPPORT NEW LIMITS ON CARBON POLLUTION FROM POWER PLANTS

By Moms Clean Air Force

This was written by Anne Brock, FlourSackMama.com for Moms Clean Air Force:

I was driving along Interstate 40, determined to reach Memphis before dark for a hot dinner and visit with relatives. My daughters were both restless in their booster seats, my youngest feeling ill. “Mommy, my head hurts, my ear hurts,” cried my 4-year-old baby girl. Thankfully, her vomiting had subsided and she was sipping liquids after our visit to Arkansas. I was feeling like the worst mother in the world!

It seemed innocent enough to plan a Spring Break trip with the girls when my husband couldn’t get away from work. The girls had loads of fun on this trip, until our stop in rural Arkansas. We had planned to spend the better part of the day touring Faulkner County and Van Buren Counties, a nearby area north of Little Rock with residents from Arkansas Fracking. I was interviewing a woman for my blog who had air quality concerns ever since her pasture had turned into a natural gas hydraulic fracturing site.

I felt a little silly about packing respirator masks, but I took the extra precaution in case we needed them. We were not going inside an actual industrial park, we’d be viewing what was happening around homes, farms and schools in the community where our guide, April Lane and her family live.

On one of our first stops along the cow pastures and sprawling front yards, I let the girls sit inside the minivan while I stepped outside the vehicle. I took a deep breath, and asked my guides, “What am I smelling?” They answered, “You don’t know what it is?” It certainly wasn’t a typical farm smell. I would know that, because I’d grown up in a place that looked a lot like this, just over the Missouri line.

Lane and her husband are raising a son a little younger than my daughters. Her son runs and plays in a place where fracking facilities are now as common as cow pastures. They know many other families with young children who live and work in the area. They don’t even get regular notices when unknown toxins, some potentially radioactive, are allowed into the air.

Concerned about air quality, Lane organized a local Bucket Brigade with help from the group, Global Community Monitor. They are trying to quantify what no government agency or business will tell them. But their gut tells them what is happening. Fracking is making them sick. Lane said nausea, nose bleeds and rashes have been plaguing multiple people in the area, and that was even before an unrelated ruptured oil pipeline spill in the nearby town of Mayflower. A 2008 report by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality stated its work done with a temporary Environmental Protect Agency grant was incomplete and could not answer long-term safety concerns about fracking in the Fayetteville Shale region.

I insisted we cut our visit short because of my daughter’s illness. But my guides were sure to point out not only fracking sites with multiple wells and storage tanks, but open swimming pool-sized ponds of used fracking fluid just yards away from someone’s front door.

Much as I wanted to think those masks protected my kids, I later realized they didn’t provide the correct filter needed for small, gaseous particles.  I had also brought along the rescue inhaler. I had tried to take precautions. Yet, I left rural Arkansas feeling a big load of mommy guilt. Why had I brought them along in the first place? In reality, I had no other choice if I was to combine parenting with my blogging life.

I was so surprised when my baby girl was nauseated at 5 am in our modest motel room (the only one to choose from in the tiny town of Greenbrier), before we’d even seen a fracking site. After I calmed her down and we checked out, I noticed the only other hotel guests seemed to be out-of-state contract energy workers. Their trucks were covered in dust. I assumed my daughter had caught a flu bug and wondered which one of us would get the “flu” next. No one else did. Coincidentally, she’s the only one in the family with a history of reactive airway disorder. Our guides shared that this isn’t the first time an out-of-town visitor had gotten sick.

By the time the day was done, my daughter was feeling normal again, no more vomiting and no more earache. I’ll never know exactly why she woke up so sick in Greenbrier, Arkansas. Feeling like the worst mother in the world, I have my suspicions. My strong maternal instinct will never allow me to visit there again.

Anne Brock is an Ozarks farm girl who showed her first hog at the fair when she was just 4 years old and learned to sew in 4-H Club. She now gardens organically and enjoys the outdoors on her family’s 2 ½ acres in Appalachia. Trained as a broadcast journalist at the University of Missouri, Brock formerly produced local television news. Anne created the website, FlourSackMama.com, where she blogs about “carrying on the best of Grandma’s traditions, while improving on what we know better.” She enjoys being invited as a guest radio and television news contributor. This married mother of two has been an advocate for parents who want a healthy future for their children.

LEARN MORE ABOUT NATURAL GAS AND AIR POLLUTION

TELL EPA YOU SUPPORT LIMITS ON CARBON POLLUTION FROM POWER PLANTS

By Bridget James

“The health of our families, especially our children, should be our number one priority. We can no longer allow Kennecott to pass their costs of doing business on to this community and sacrifice our health and quality of life in the process.” ~ Cherise Udell, founder of Utah Moms for Clean Air.

Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation, a division of Rio Tinto Group, is a mining, smelting, and refining company. Its corporate headquarters are located in South Jordan, Utah. Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, Utah Moms for Clean Air and the Sierra Club are suing Kennecott Utah Copper for violating the Clean Air Act. They recently met with Kennecott’s group of highly paid lawyers in a federal courtroom in Salt Lake City. The groups argue that Kennecott’s increase in mining production is illegal, despite the state of Utah approving a 2011 expansion permit to the copper mining conglomerate. So who decides whether a mining expansion permit is legal, the state’s Department of Air Quality or the federal government’s EPA? It looks as though it’s in the heavy hands of Utah’s federal district judge to decide.

The EPA’s Clean Air Act was adopted in 1970 after visible air quality issues in many of the nation’s large cities. The Clean Air Act was established to protect public health and welfare from different types of air pollution caused by a diverse array of pollution sources. The Clean Air Act manages six “criteria” air pollutants by adopting standards of emissions for each one. Those six pollutants are: particulate matter, ozone, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead and nitrogen dioxide. The states are required to adopt their own plans in order to meet the federally regulated pollutants.

One would think that in the case of Kennecott vs. Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, Utah Moms for Clean Air and the Sierra Club, the judge should rule Kennecott was in violation of the Clean Air Act and the state of Utah did not have the right to issue an expansion permit. Because this allowed Kennecott to increase their polluting emissions. Kennecott argues that by trimming their smelter, power plant and truck emissions by adding new technology, they have significantly reduced their emissions to make up for their expansion. Emission’s tests prove otherwise.

Kennecott accounts for 93% of Utah’s lead and lead compound emissions. Since the expansion permit was granted to Kennecott, the environmental groups claim a large increase in toxic air from the state’s top industrial air polluter. This is wreaking havoc on the health of citizens across the Wasatch Front, many of which are most at risk: children.

Only time will tell whether Kennecott will be held accountable for violating the Clean Air Act and forced to clean up their behavior. Meanwhile, environmental groups will continue to do everything in their power to protect the health and well being of their number one priority, the children of Utah.

Photo: Utah Moms For Clean Air

TELL EPA YOU SUPPORT LIMITS ON CARBON POLLUTION FROM POWER PLANTS

By Danny Shanahan

With Halloween just days away, skulls and crossbones may inspire your little ghouls and goblins, but do you know the all facts about how air pollution affects your children’s health?

LEARN MORE ABOUT:

OZONE

SCHOOL AIR

SOOT AND BLACK CARBON

EXTREME WEATHER

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

NATURAL GAS AND AIR POLLUTION

OCEAN ACIDIFICATION

TELL EPA YOU SUPPORT LIMITS ON CARBON POLLUTION FROM POWER PLANTS

By Moms Clean Air Force

Congresswoman Ann McLane Kuster & MCAF NH Field Manager, Yvonne Nanasi at Tillotson Center in Colebrook, NH.

 

This was written by Representative Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02) for Moms Clean Air Force:

Living in New Hampshire we cultivate a deep appreciation for our state’s natural resources. As a life-long resident of the Granite State, I grew up skiing in the White Mountains and swimming in our pristine lakes. I believe that we have a responsibility to protect these natural treasures for future generations. I am glad my two sons had the chance to grow up enjoying the bounty of our state’s natural wonders and I want to ensure that their children will have access to the same beauty.

A healthy environment supports a healthy population. Like millions of other Americans, I am experiencing adult-onset allergies, a condition that is often linked to air quality. Air pollution can also exacerbate existing conditions like asthma. In New Hampshire alone, there were over 1,000 hospital admissions for asthma in 2011, with an average charge of close to $12,300 for each stay. This is just a small sample of how pollution and smog not only obstruct our views from atop Mount Washington, but can also cause unnecessary health risks. As a mother, I want all Americans to have the ability to raise their children in a clean and safe environment.

This June, the President laid out his plan for combating climate change, the largest environmental challenge of our time. I commend the Administration for tackling the issue head on and I am committed to doing the same in Congress. We should begin with common sense measures that increase energy efficiency and push our energy sector to lead the world in clean technology development. Efficiency and renewable energy are bipartisan priorities that represent a win-win scenario: they are good for our energy independence, our national security, our economy, and our environment. A healthy environment also supports a healthy economy. There is absolutely a direct connection between renewable energy development and the creation of good jobs right here in New Hampshire and across the country—jobs that our children will grow up to fill.

I went to Congress to work for Granite Staters and the values that we all share. We all want our children to be able to appreciate our state the same way that we did growing up. If we want to preserve our quality of life and protect our families, then we have to be good stewards of the environment. We have to work from the ground up to accomplish this goal; individuals need to reduce their footprint on the natural world, communities need to find creative ways to increase efficiency and reduce waste, and we all need to demand better from every level of our government. As the representative of my constituents in New Hampshire, I will continue fighting to protect our environment and our families in Congress, and I will work with anyone—in any party—who shares that goal.

For more information, contact:

Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02)
18 North Main St., 4th Floor, Concord, 03301
Phone: 603-226-1002
Fax: 603-226-1010
Sign up for Rep. Kuster’s e-Newsletter HERE.

TELL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO UNITE FOR A STRONG PLAN TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING

By Dominique Browning

No, this is not my life mantra. But I’m considering it. “Improve—and move” is our mantra for the new proposal to reform the 37 year old –and dangerously ineffective—law, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. This is our chance to make a HUGE difference in our lives, by improving and moving the Chemical Safety Improvement Act of 2013.

Right now it is still legal for manufacturers to use:

• Flame retardants – linked to reproductive damage – in couches, crib mattresses
• Formaldehyde—a known human carcinogen — in clothing, and building materials
• Phthalates — linked to birth defects — used to soften plastics in lunch boxes, backpacks and binders, for instance
• PFCs — some also suspected carcinogens — used in nonstick cookware, and clothing and carpeting.

I could go on and on: 62,000 chemicals on the market in 1976 – still the majority of those in use today – were grandfathered in under TSCA without proof of safety. Since then, 23,000 more new chemicals have been allowed to enter the market without rigorous testing. We may think that because something is on the shelves of our stores, it’s been shown to be safe. We are mistaken. And what’s all this got to do with air pollution? Many of these toxic chemicals “off-gas” — they drift into the air in our homes and workplaces, and contaminate the dust on the floor where our babies crawl. We breathe them into our bodies.

For years, hundreds of thousands of parents have been demanding reform—just look at how some companies dropped the hormone disruptor BPA in plastics, for instance, because of consumers’ protests. But the problem is that without regulation, manufacturers can just substitute BPA with another untested chemical that might be even more hazardous.  We need strong chemical laws. And the new Chemical Safety Improvement Act is our first real chance in decades to get to that goal.

IMPROVE: The new bill has significant flaws—and negotiations are underway to improve it. For instance, the bill does not adequately address the special vulnerability of infants and children, who have different responses to chemicals than do adults.

MOVE: The new bill is bipartisan, which is vital to actually passing legislation. It is our only chance, and may be for years, to give our government the authority it needs to identify and regulate toxic chemicals. The status quo is not an option.

Remember: right now, WE are the guinea pigs. Under current law, the chemicals in our stuff are innocent until proven guilty — effectively, they’re being tested in our bodies, and in our children’s bodies. This isn’t right. Let’s do something about it.

TELL CONGRESS TO PROTECT US FROM TOXIC CHEMICALS

By Marcia G. Yerman

If the shutdown in Washington does anything, it may be to ask the question: “Why does the country need government?”

On the eighth day of the government shutdown, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairperson of the Environmental and Public Works (EPW) Committee, flanked by other Majority members, held a press conference to discuss the wide-ranging impacts of the standoff in Washington.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is particularly hard hit. A preponderance of workers in the office of air and radiation — which handles the writing and implementation of top air pollution rules — are furloughed. On hold will be the proposal for renewal fuel volume standards that were being recommended for 2014. The comment period on the emissions standards put forth for new power plants will be postponed, and a host of other deadlines will be impacted.

Perhaps of greatest concern is the fact that only 182 workers out of 804 will be at work in the enforcement department of the EPA. These are the people tasked with taking legal action against those who pollute the air and water systems. Read this as a free pass card to those who knowingly dump illegal contaminants, folks like Koch Industries.

Business as usual has been disrupted. Falling under this umbrella is: the issuing of environmental permits; examination of pesticides; overseeing safe drinking water laws on tribal lands; the effectiveness of the Chemical Safety Board that investigates explosions; the closing of public lands for recreation. The growing traction on President Obama’s new carbon regulations is stymied. As Gina McCarthy said at a recent breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, “…the EPA effectively shuts down, with only a core group of individuals who are there in the event of a significant emergency.” The parameters of an “emergency” were later defined by the agency as an “imminent threat” to the safety of “human life or property.”

Boxer started the press conference by calling for a “clean CR (Continuing Resolution) with no riders attached.” She emphasized that keeping the government open and paying the bills incurred were tantamount. “Governing is about moving the country forward,” she said.

“Here’s what’s happening on the ground,” Boxer continued. “93 percent of the EPA has been furloughed. So, no one is insuring that water is safe to drink or that air is safe to breathe.” Referencing her state, Boxer said, “The shut down has taken EPA inspectors off the job. In California, there is not one on the ground.” Pointing to the ramifications, Boxer said, “This means no oversight on those who are illegally dumping toxins in water and air. Clean up activities at 505 superfund sites in 47 states are on hold. This directly impacts families and vulnerable children to arsenic, benzene, lead, and mercury.” Boxer pointed out how deadly these substances are to the brains and organs of young children. As case in point, she showed a graphic photograph of a parent trying to staunch a child’s nosebleed in the Los Angeles community of University Park—situated near oil and gas operations. There were numerous incidents of recurring nosebleeds, dizziness, respiratory ailments and headaches. Boxer made sure that the EPA “got on it” — and it was attended to.

Shaking her head, Boxer underscored, “Stuff like this will get derailed.” Making a point of relating the stat that 75 percent of the American public supports the EPA, Boxer ended her comments by reiterating the “widespread effect on the health and safety of the American people and the economy.” Her bottom line was, “The longer the shutdown continues, the greater the damage will be.”

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) took the microphone to comment on the clear ramifications of harm to the environment and health, with the refrain, “There’s no doubt about it.” He also brought up a topic dear to the Republicans: the economy. He discussed how the shut down of public lands for recreation negatively affects the adjacent local economies. He pointedly noted, “You can’t negotiate with a gun at your head.”

Speaking about Florida, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) outlined consequences from the shutdown of tours at the Kennedy Space Center being canceled to the target dates thrown off in meeting the Everglades restoration.

In addition, four speakers were on hand to discuss how critical services are being affected by the shutdown, including the investigation and prevention of chemical explosions and disasters, stalled cleanups of waste sites, the shuttering of wildlife refuges, and consequences for the transportation sector.

We need government to open up and protect us now.

TELL CONGRESS TO GET BACK TO WORK AND END THE SHUTDOWN

By Moms Clean Air Force

This was written by Brian Kahn for MCAF partner, Climate Central:

Clocks aren’t the only things falling back at this time of year. The start to foliage season is also on the move, with the season starting later and later in the U.S. since 1982. Other threats from climate change could also cost states that rely on the billions from leaf peepers in lost tourism revenues and have ecological impacts that extend well beyond the season.

The U.S. Forest Service estimates that fiery foliage in the Berkshires and Green and White Mountains generates $8 billion in tourism revenue annually for New England alone. Foliage season is so important to Vermont that the state employs a leaf forecaster. States in other parts of the country also depend on foliage season to bring in tourism dollars, though specific numbers are harder to come by.

Warmer weather is contributing to a later ending to the growing season in the U.S. according to research from Seoul National University. The end of the season is marked by the point when satellites see the overall greenness of foliage start to decline, was over two weeks later in 2008 compared to 1982.

The end of the growing season in the continental U.S. has become roughly two weeks later from 1982-2008.

A later onset to fall isn’t the only issue affecting foliage season, though. The financial benefits of leaf tourism are reaped in the fall, but they’re sown in spring and mature through summer. The climate during all three seasons affects how vibrant foliage actually is. A warm, wet spring followed by a Goldilocks summer followed by a fall with warm days and cool nights create the most ideal conditions for eye-catching colors.

Climate change is causing warming across all seasons, and while that might be a boon in spring, warmer and more extreme heat during the summer could negate those benefits. The stress from warm weather can knock leaves off the trees before they’ve even had a chance to change.

Nighttime temperatures are also generally rising faster than daytime highs, which means cool fall nights are likely to become shorter in supply. All these shifts could work to reduce the brilliance of fall foliage over time, but they also create openings for other threats to trees and their leafy assets.

“A lengthening growing season could open up the door for invasive species, particularly invasives that are adaptable to different climates,” said Carolyn Enquist, science coordinator for the National Phenology Network. “We could see more invasives or invasives (that) are more active in the fall.”

Enquist cited gypsy moths, which are an invasive species. Though they were introduced in New England in the 1860s, gypsy moths have spread far and wide across the U.S. in the past 40 years. One gypsy moth can lay up to 1,000 eggs, which in turn become very hungry caterpillars that are partial to oak, birch, aspens, and other deciduous trees. Some research suggests a warming world will favor the growth of gypsy moth populations from Virginia to Utah.

Enquist cautioned that more research needs to be done on many levels to understand not just how foliage is likely to change but fall in general.

“Autumn hasn’t been quite as well studied and is a lot more complex in terms of figuring out what drives fall phenology,” she said. “Temperatures are a big thing, but there’s sun and moisture, etc. It’s very complex and people are starting to get more interested.”

TELL EPA YOU SUPPORT LIMITS ON CARBON POLLUTION FROM POWER PLANTS

By Moms Clean Air Force

This was written by Sarah Vogel, health program director at the Environmental Defense Fund:

In 1976, you could still buy leaded gasoline; you could smoke on an airplane; and you could still drive with an open beer in most states. And, on this day in 1976, President Gerald Ford signed a law that was meant to make sure the chemicals we use are safe.

Today, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), our main federal chemical law, turns 37-years-old. A lot has changed since 1976, not least of which is our understanding of the health impact of chemicals. We now know that some of the chemicals we’re exposed to every day can cause real problems, ranging from cancer to learning disabilities. Yet we still rely on an ineffective law from the 70s, which has failed to protect us.

Many people think that hazardous chemicals are only found in laboratories and factories. In reality, we are exposed to chemicals on a daily basis through the products we use and the materials that surround us in our homes, schools and workplaces.

There are chemicals you take into or put on your body, usually on purpose: prescription drugs, cosmetics or chemicals added to food, like a sugar substitute or colorant. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is charged with ensuring these chemicals are safe.

But there are many more chemicals you might not pay as much attention to, like chemicals in bottles and cans under your kitchen sink and in the paint on your walls, the varnish on your desk and the foam in your couch. In fact, there are thousands of such chemicals we all encounter every day.

So here’s the problem: Very few of these chemicals have been reviewed to determine if they’re safe, because the 37-year-old law we still operate under doesn’t require it.

TSCA is supposed to regulate the tens of thousands of chemicals like these, but when the law was passed, the chemical industry argued that consumers would not be exposed to potentially toxic chemicals in everyday products, hence they would pose no risk to human health.

We now know better. Many hundreds of these chemicals enter our bodies, not only through food and water, but also through fumes, aerosol sprays and household dust. Studies have linked many of these chemicals to health problems, including asthma, autism, infertility and learning disabilities.

Despite the mounting evidence, only a small fraction of the chemicals being produced or used in the United States have ever been required to be tested. TSCA does not give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority it needs to screen chemicals for safety and appropriately regulate the ones found to be unsafe.

We’ve had six Presidents since Gerald Ford signed the law in 1976, and control of Congress has switched back and forth numerous times between the parties. In that time, no one found time to fix TSCA. After 37 years, the time has come. Congress should pass a chemical law that will protect our families NOW. We can’t afford to wait for another birthday of this decrepit law to come and go.

TELL CONGRESS TO PROTECT US FROM TOXIC CHEMICALS

By Danny Shanahan

The government shutdown that started nearly three weeks ago has cost the National Park Service (including Glacier National Park) almost half a million dollars in entrance fees and tens of millions of dollars in visitor spending each day. While the shutdown has put moms and dads all over the country out of work, carbon polluting drilling continues in 12 National Parks, and climate research is adversely impacted:

“The impacts to climate research, which relies on continuous series of data, could be significant.” ~ Scientific American

 TELL CONGRESS TO GET BACK TO WORK AND END THE SHUTDOWN

By Diane MacEachern

It is the ultimate irony: the extreme weather events that have shaken so many American communities recently, have created opportunities to reduce the build-up of greenhouse gases that could be responsible for those events.

Extreme Weather Leads To Disasters And Green Opportunities

Superstorm Sandy. The EF5 tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma. The Yarnell fire in Arizona. And of course, the raging floods in Colorado where thousands of people are still recovering from the muddy torrents that have destroyed their homes and property. All have been linked to the excessive build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, due in large part to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas.

Though they may never really get over their shock at having so many of their possessions destroyed, at some point these people will need to reconstruct their homes. When they do, there may be some consolation in knowing that the disasters they endured have also created an opportunity to rebuild in a greener, cleaner, more resilient way.

They’ll be getting some help from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has proposed new rules that would place limits on carbon pollution from power plants. They – and you – can help right back, by supporting EPA’s efforts.

There’s a lot homeowners can do in their daily lives to make a difference, too. Many have heard about green living. They probably recycle and may have replaced incandescent light bulbs with more energy efficient compact fluorescents or LEDs. Yet for a lot of consumers, it can be prohibitively expensive to take the actions that make the biggest difference: add insulation, replace existing appliances with more energy-efficient models, and perhaps install solar panels on their roof.

Building From The Ground Up

Fortunately, when building from the ground up, it makes sense to choose the most energy-efficient options available, given how much money they save on utility bills while reducing the amount of energy consumed.

This certainly has proved to be the case in Greensburg, Kansas. In 2007, the entire town of Greensburg was obliterated by a tornado. Almost every home was destroyed, leaving the community’s 1,400 plus residents with only two choices – move to a completely different part of the state or country, or rebuild. While some individuals did leave, the city’s leaders decided to take the “green” in their town’s name seriously. They educated residents about energy-saving and eco-friendly options and determined to rebuild the city’s infrastructure to maximize energy efficiency.

Their efforts are paying off. Thanks to fundamental energy-efficiency improvements made when homes were rebuilt, of the first 190 homes constructed after the tornado, about half were analyzed for expected energy savings (heat and electricity), and found to use, on average 40% less energy than code.

A 20-year power purchase agreement with Exelon Corporation allowed  Greensburg to install a 12.5 megawatt wind farm that supplies enough electricity to power every house, business, and municipal building in the town, meeting a community-wide goal to get most of energy from renewable sources that do not emit greenhouse gases. The hospital, school, arts center, and Best Western hotel all power up with dedicated wind turbines as well.

Additional energy comes from hydropower, ground source heat pumps, and small photovoltaic systems. Plus, Greensburg is the first city in the U.S. to use LED lamps in 100 percent of its street lights.

Take A Whole Living Approach

Greensburg residents didn’t only focus on energy. Taking a “whole living” approach, they focused on water conservation and non-toxic products as well, installing:

• 400 dual flush, low-flow toilets and dozens of water-saving sinks, estimated to now be saving up to 2,500,000 gallons of water per year over the pre-storm toilets
• 260 low-flow showerheads, saving the average family of three up to 2,700 gallons of water per year
• 300 sets of microfiber kitchen and bath cloths, saving every family that uses them money they might otherwise spend on paper towels. TADGreen, which donated the cloths, estimates that if each household in the US. replaced one roll of paper towels with an E cloth, America could save 544,000 trees annually.

Residents also received instructions on how to use non-toxic products to clean their homes; reusable shopping bags to minimize use of disposable plastic bags; and subscriptions to Mother Earth News for regular information on topics like organic gardening and solar energy systems.

A reclaimed lumber project was launched, as well. Instead of burning fallen trees or dumping them in a landfill, the wood was salvaged so it could be used for furniture and trim.

A Green Lining

Six years after the tornado hit, Greensburg, Kansas has become a model for what a green town can look like when people put their minds to it. Would anyone have willingly experienced that terrifying event just to “go green?” Of course not. But once they decided to look for the “green” lining in the clouds hovering over their community, they could envision a future that offered hope, rather than desolation. In doing so, they’ve set a standard that any town or city in the U.S. can emulate.

It’s absolutely vital that parents advocate for strong regulations that support the EPA’s new limits on carbon pollution from power plants. These sensible limits will cut down on greenhouse emissions that fuel extreme weather and compromise our children’s health.

TELL EPA YOU SUPPORT LIMITS ON CARBON POLLUTION FROM POWER PLANTS