Experts agree that this year will likely break global temperature records thanks to El Niño weather patterns and human-caused climate change. Earlier this month, heat domes covered much of the West, Midwest, and Northeast, and Moms demanded that Congress step up and protect children.
Tell Congress: The Climate Clock Is Ticking. Act Now for Our Kids’ Future.
In an op-ed published in La Prensa and La Opinión, Senior Manager for Field Engagement and Partnerships Liz Hurtado writes that, for many families, fighting to protect kids against extreme heat has become “just another part of summer.”
She explains that not only is extreme heat dangerous on its own, but it can also worsen air pollution, which increases the threat of asthma attacks, lung irritation, and more. These risks are exacerbated for Latino families because they disproportionately work outside in dangerous heat or live in more polluted areas of the city.
Liz urges families to follow any guidance from healthcare providers surrounding extreme heat, check air quality before heading outdoors, and take adequate water, shade, and rest breaks when working or playing outside. But she also acknowledges that longer-term solutions require policy change.
“Clean air, reliable electricity, and safe neighborhoods shouldn’t depend on your zip code or how much you can afford to pay to stay cool. They should be a basic guarantee for every family, in every community,” Liz writes.
In the news
- In the Lansing State Journal, Michigan Field Organizer Elizabeth Hauptman (pictured) recalls the time that her son ended up in urgent care last year after a field day, struggling to breathe from an asthma attack despite using his inhaler and sheltering inside with air purifiers. Her son is one of more than 140,000 Michigan children living with asthma, and Elizabeth urges Michigan leaders to reject changes to Marathon Petroleum and MPLX permits that would increase pollution in already overburdened communities and further endanger hurting families.
- In the Austin-American Statesman, Senior Analyst for Petrochemicals Cynthia Palmer calls out EPA’s proposal to double the acceptable levels of formaldehyde exposure, arguing it would recklessly endanger children and families by going against science that shows formaldehyde causes more cancers than any other toxic air pollutant.
- Moms’ fact sheet about extreme heat and Black communities was featured in a Blavity article about why predominately Black neighborhoods face more extreme heat days than white neighborhoods.
- Moms’ Sam Schmitz explains to NBC Washington that she decided to leave Washington, DC, ahead of Trump’s plans to launch 850,000 smoky, sooty fireworks on the 4th of July to protect herself from the air pollution. Sam has asthma and spent last year struggling to breathe despite staying inside with an air purifier.
Tell Congress: The Climate Clock Is Ticking. Act Now for Our Kids’ Future.