During a recent clean air discussion on our Black and Married With Kids Facebook page, someone left a comment that the EPA wasn’t necessary. In the same keyboard stroke, that commenter proclaimed, “big companies need do the right thing.” Well guess what? Without being regulated and held to government standards, most of the country’s big businesses will never do the right thing. They’ll put profit over pollution every time, especially when the CEO and Board don’t live in the communities that are being polluted.
What’s unfortunate is that we do live in these communities. These polluted communities are where we work, where our children attend school and where they play outside everyday.
Does that hit close enough to home for you?
There are even members of Congress who are working to block the EPA from providing the protection to the American people that they have been for the past 40 years through the Clean Air Act.
Again, I think that we all realize that Congress doesn’t necessarily do what’s always in the best interest of working class Americans or minority communities. And that is why it is important for them to hear your voice. It is important that you demand the right to breathe clean air and for your children and their children to have these basic rights as well.
What health conditions will your children suffer so that corporate dollars aren’t sacrificed?
The communities affected most by poor air quality are communities filled with African-American and Latino populations. For years now higher rates of asthma in the African-American community have been linked to poor air quality, but that wasn’t enough to act. Almost a decade ago, a study in New York City found a link between poor air quality and reduction in both birth weight and skull circumference for African-American babies. These problems correspond to health issues that have been known to develop later in life but this still wasn’t enough to gain our attention.
What has to happen before we care enough?
According to the EPA website the Clean Air Act Amendments will prevent over 230,000 early deaths in 2020. This is why the Clean Air Act is necessary and this is why we must stand up to fight for this mighty cause now!
The first step in you joining the cause is JOIN MOMS CLEAN AIR FORCE to find out the multiple ways that you can TAKE ACTION.
The generations before us had to protest, march and defeat insurmountable odds for their collective voices to be heard. In the day and age of the Internet and social media, we can lend our voice with a few clicks of a mouse. Are your children and your community important enough for you to take the next step? Can you develop ideas for ways to get your local community involved with this topic? Have you had success in rallying attention geared around this before? If so, we’d love to hear what you did in the comments section.
Let’s take the next step towards protecting the air for our children. In this ever changing world there are many things that I’m unsure of, but in this case I’m positive that our children deserve to breathe clean air.