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What is Climate Change?

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Climate change, marked by record-breaking heat waves, acidifying oceans in which sea creatures die, melting icecaps, rising oceans, and intensifying floods and droughts, is the most urgent problem humanity has ever faced.

Our atmosphere is getting warmer and our weather is getting more extreme, owing to pollution from human activity. Carbon dioxide and methane are two of the most important pollutants causing climate change. The balance of these greenhouse gases in our atmosphere has allowed human civilization to thrive for tens of thousands of years, but we have disturbed this balance with too much methane and too much carbon. These pollutants come from coal plants, cars and trucks, natural gas operations, industrial-scale agriculture, and other sources.

We are in the race of our lives, with a small window left, to cut climate pollution before the impacts of global warming overwhelm human civilization.

Does climate change affect our health?

Health professionals around the world are sounding the alarm: Climate change has grave public health impacts, and our children will suffer the most. Rising temperatures, extreme weather, and disruptions to the global food supply, with intensifying droughts, floods, fires, and smog, are all symptoms of our climate chaos.

As these conditions worsen, they lead to a cascade of overlapping health problems: more asthma attacks, the spread of vector-borne diseases, an increase in heat-related illnesses, mental health problems, and more.

Cutting Carbon Emissions

Carbon dioxide emissions from human activity are the biggest source of climate pollution. This carbon dioxide comes mostly from burning fossil fuels for electricity and from our transportation sector. The urgency of the climate crisis requires that we stop pouring carbon dioxide into the air. That will require changing the way we get our energy and changing the way we travel.

Given the need to transform these major sectors of our economy, the climate crisis is too big a problem for individuals to solve. We need a solution at the national level. President Biden has made climate action one of the central goals of his presidency. Now it’s up to us to keep the pressure on—we must continue to build momentum for bold climate action.

But we also need legislative solutions to climate change. Laws are more durable over time than presidential actions, which can be reversed by future presidents. So we must keep demanding robust legislative solutions.

Another important place for climate action: at the state level. Many states have launched transformative climate initiatives, driving down climate pollution and serving as models for national solutions.

Find out what is happening in your state, and demand that your governor take action.

Cutting Methane Emissions

Methane is another significant source of climate pollution. Methane is a powerful heat-trapping gas that is 84 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere in the first decade after its release. Methane comes from landfills, livestock, and oil and gas operations—including well pads, compressor stations, and pipelines. Because methane is such a powerful greenhouse gas, it is critically important that we sharply curtail methane pollution starting right now.

The Trump administration rolled back national standards that limited methane pollution from fracking. In 2021, Congress voted to reinstate these important standards. President Biden has also signaled his commitment to limiting methane pollution, and in the fall of 2021, EPA proposed the first rules for new and existing oil and gas operations in November 2021. Moms showed up to support methane rules, which are a significant step forward.

Moms Clean Air Force also supports state-based efforts to limit harmful methane pollution. If you live in a state where there is fracking, you can demand that your elected officials show leadership in reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations. Several states have already begun implementing mechanisms to reduce oil and gas pollution, including California, Colorado, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wyoming. But all states have a long way to go before emissions are under control.

Learn more about how methane pollution from fracking contributes to climate change and degrades our air quality by exploring our resources.

Support state and national efforts to limit methane pollution from the oil and gas industry.

Select a subtopic to learn more:

  • Fracking/Methane

  • Extreme Weather

  • Clean Energy

  • Carbon Dioxide

Resources about Climate Change

  • Resources
  • Articles
  • Take Action
Climate Change and Mental Health

Fact Sheet

Climate Change and Mental Health

10 Things to Know About Climate, Clean Air, and Health Equity

Fact Sheet

10 Things to Know About Climate, Clean Air, and Health Equity

Firefighters, Climate Change, and Toxic Chemicals

Fact Sheet

Firefighters, Climate Change, and Toxic Chemicals

Indigenous People and Air Pollution in the United States

Fact Sheet

Indigenous People and Air Pollution in the United States

Climate Change in the African American Community

Fact Sheet

Climate Change in the African American Community

Clean Air, Climate, Health Equity—And Inequity: What Must Be Done for Our Children

Video

Clean Air, Climate, Health Equity—And Inequity: What Must Be Done for Our Children

Letter to Arizona Congressional Delegation About IPCC Report, May 10, 2022

Letter

Letter to Arizona Congressional Delegation About IPCC Report, May 10, 2022

EcoChats: Women’s Reflections with Kerri Johannsen

Video

EcoChats: Women’s Reflections with Kerri Johannsen

EcoChats: Women’s Reflections with Carolina Peña

Video

EcoChats: Women’s Reflections with Carolina Peña

Letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committees About EPA Funding, April 29, 2022

Letter

Letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committees About EPA Funding, April 29, 2022

A Vital Earth for Everyone

Video

A Vital Earth for Everyone

Moms on a Mission: Reducing Air Pollution

Video

Moms on a Mission: Reducing Air Pollution

See more resources about Climate Change »

Moms Make News: Moms Urge EPA to Put the Brakes on Truck Pollution

Article

Moms Make News: Moms Urge EPA to Put the Brakes on Truck Pollution

Collective Climate Action is Good for the Planet—and Our Mental Health

Article

Collective Climate Action is Good for the Planet—and Our Mental Health

Plants and Pollinators Go Wild for "NO MOW MAY"

Article

Plants and Pollinators Go Wild for "NO MOW MAY"

New Mexico Mom Concerned About Climate Pollution From Trucks

Article

New Mexico Mom Concerned About Climate Pollution From Trucks

Climate Change and Mental Health: A Mom’s Story and Fact Sheet

Article

Climate Change and Mental Health: A Mom’s Story and Fact Sheet

To Help Stop Climate Change, Obama Says: Create More National Parks

Article

To Help Stop Climate Change, Obama Says: Create More National Parks

For Mother's Day: A Better World

Article

For Mother's Day: A Better World

Para el Día de la Madre: Un mundo mejor

Article

Para el Día de la Madre: Un mundo mejor

My Family’s Health Suffers From Truck Pollution

Article

My Family’s Health Suffers From Truck Pollution

New Mexico Is a Model for EPA Methane Protections

Article

New Mexico Is a Model for EPA Methane Protections

Interview With Dr. Britt Wray, Author of Generation Dread

Article

Interview With Dr. Britt Wray, Author of Generation Dread

Arbor Day Reading: Plant Trees and Save Them

Article

Arbor Day Reading: Plant Trees and Save Them

Read more articles about Climate Change »

Tell the Senate: Support Commonsense Climate Investments

Petition

Tell the Senate: Support Commonsense Climate Investments

Tell the Senate: Support Black Maternal Health in Climate Investment Package

Petition

Tell the Senate: Support Black Maternal Health in Climate Investment Package

Tell Congress: Support the Civilian Climate Corps for Jobs and Justice Act

Petition

Tell Congress: Support the Civilian Climate Corps for Jobs and Justice Act

Tell President Biden: Protect Indigenous Rights and Sovereignty. Stop Line 3.

Petition

Tell President Biden: Protect Indigenous Rights and Sovereignty. Stop Line 3.

Tell the Senate: End Fossil Fuel Tax Breaks and Subsidies

Petition

Tell the Senate: End Fossil Fuel Tax Breaks and Subsidies

Tell Your Governor: Take the Lead on Climate Action

Petition

Tell Your Governor: Take the Lead on Climate Action

Clean Air Action Guide

Action Guide

Clean Air Action Guide

Climate Change and Mental Health

Fact Sheet

Climate Change and Mental Health

10 Things to Know About Climate, Clean Air, and Health Equity

Fact Sheet

10 Things to Know About Climate, Clean Air, and Health Equity

Firefighters, Climate Change, and Toxic Chemicals

Fact Sheet

Firefighters, Climate Change, and Toxic Chemicals

Indigenous People and Air Pollution in the United States

Fact Sheet

Indigenous People and Air Pollution in the United States

Climate Change in the African American Community

Fact Sheet

Climate Change in the African American Community

Clean Air, Climate, Health Equity—And Inequity: What Must Be Done for Our Children

Video

Clean Air, Climate, Health Equity—And Inequity: What Must Be Done for Our Children

Letter to Arizona Congressional Delegation About IPCC Report, May 10, 2022

Letter

Letter to Arizona Congressional Delegation About IPCC Report, May 10, 2022

Moms Make News: Moms Urge EPA to Put the Brakes on Truck Pollution

Article

Moms Make News: Moms Urge EPA to Put the Brakes on Truck Pollution

EcoChats: Women’s Reflections with Kerri Johannsen

Video

EcoChats: Women’s Reflections with Kerri Johannsen

EcoChats: Women’s Reflections with Carolina Peña

Video

EcoChats: Women’s Reflections with Carolina Peña

Collective Climate Action is Good for the Planet—and Our Mental Health

Article

Collective Climate Action is Good for the Planet—and Our Mental Health

Plants and Pollinators Go Wild for "NO MOW MAY"

Article

Plants and Pollinators Go Wild for "NO MOW MAY"

See more Climate Change resources »

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Moms Clean Air Force

We are a community of over one million moms and dads united against air pollution – including the urgent crisis of our changing climate – to protect our children’s health.

Areas of Focus

  • What Is Air Pollution?
  • What is Climate Change?
  • What are Toxic Chemicals?

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