Featured discussions with leading environmental experts and policymakers, including author and commentator Dr. Shanna Swan, Former EPA Senior Advisor Robin Morris Collin,NYU professor Leo Trasande, Founder of Planet Reimagined and Musician from AJR Adam Met, and UC San Francisco professor Tracey Woodruff, focused on how plastics impact the health of our families
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee Announced Major New Environmental Justice Initiative
Washington, D.C. (April 3, 2025) – Moms Clean Air Force, the national coalition of more than 1.5 million moms, dads, and caregivers united in securing clean air and and a healthy future for all children by fighting against air pollution, toxic chemicals and the negative impacts of climate change, hosted their annual Washington D.C. Summit at the National Press Club. Titled “A Health Crisis in Plain Sight: How plastics are poisoning our air, food, and bodies — and what we can do to protect our children’s future,” the event brought together leading scientists, mental health experts, doctors, frontline community workers, environmental justice advocates and policymakers to discuss the latest research on the devastating impact of plastics on human health and the environment.
Moms Clean Air Force’s Director and Co-Founder, Dominique Browning, emphasized the urgency of addressing the growing environmental and public health threats posed by plastics. “We are in a fight against an EPA that is cruelly and recklessly advertising a free pass for polluters, inviting companies to apply by email. We are in a fight to protect the laws that set forth our right to clean air—and make it achievable. In other words, this fight is a significant part of a fight for a democracy that respects the rule of law. Where is the plastics industry’s moral compass—the morality that demands we respect our children’s bodies and keep them free of known carcinogens and endocrine disruptors.”
The summit featured an array of prominent voices, including U.S. Representative Summer Lee (D-PA), who announced a new initiative to advance environmental justice through the formation of a new Environmental Justice Caucus in Congress. “The people who are impacted by climate change everyday have perspectives, have a voice and have answers. We have to be intentional about including them in every step of the way. We can’t allow more harm to our communities, our kids and our climate” Representative Lee stated. “Where we have intentional policy decisions made, we also have to have intentional policy decisions to remedy them. I am honored to launch the Environmental Justice Caucus in Congress to tackle this issue head on, to find solutions that work and are community rooted.”
The event also included expert-led panel discussions featuring renowned scientists and public health professionals who provided crucial insights into the harmful effects of plastic pollution on the human lifecycle, including reproductive health, mental health, and the disproportionate impact on frontline communities and communities of color.
Jo Banner, Co-Founder of The Descendant Project in Louisiana, said “The petrochemical companies use the same language and argument that was used to justify slavery, it’s the same system of human rights violations…I don’t know how much longer we can endure the plague of plastics. If we can’t protect the descendant community, it will be lost forever.”
Dr. Shanna H. Swan, PhD, leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologist and author of Countdown, said “The industry continues to push back and obfuscate by calling for more and more testing, but we have enough evidence to act now. These toxic chemicals are endangering the human race…We have a plastic addiction.”
Dr. Leo Trasande, Professor of Pediatrics and Environmental Medicine at NYU School of Medicine, said “Plastics is not just a US problem, but a global problem. Plastics are wrecking balls in our bodies.”
Dr. Tracey Woodruff, Director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at UC San Francisco, said “There’s a lot we don’t know [about plastic exposure] but there’s also a lot that we do know… the industry knew that these chemicals were harmful for decades but they didn’t tell us and have done nothing about it.”
Dr. Shannon Jones, Professor of Toxicology at University of Richmond, said “Pollution is a form of oppression. I want [my students] to confront that. To think about that.”
Former EPA Senior Advisor to the Administrator for Environmental Justice Robin Morris Collin called for systemic change in how the U.S. handles plastic pollution. “Historically marginalized and low-income communities are bearing the brunt of this crisis,” Collin said. “Plastics are ubiquitous, but the industry is answerable to none. We have to be the people we’ve been waiting for.”
In addition to discussing the dangers of plastic pollution, speakers called attention to the harmful practices being promoted by the petrochemical industry like so-called “advanced recycling,” which is neither advanced nor recycling, but rather a process by which plastic is burned and toxic chemicals are released into the air, water, and soil.
These speakers included Osasenaga Idahor, Podcaster and Member of EPA’s 2024 Youth Advisory Council, Isaias Hernandez, Environmentalist, Educator and Founder of QueerBrownVegan, Shamieka Preston, Columbia for Clean Air Organizer, Lynn Anderson, SOBE Concerned Citizens Organizer, Alice Park, Senior Health Correspondent for TIME Magazine, Almeta Cooper, National Manager for Health Justice, Rachel Meyer, Ohio River Valley Organizer, and Cynthia Palmer, Petrochemicals Senior Analyst all from Moms Clean Air Force. Adam Met, Founder of Planet Reimagined and Musician from AJR, also spoke about his work to combat the plastics crisis. Read more about Adam’s approach to activism in his book Amplify, which will be released in June.
Moms Clean Air Force’s ongoing efforts to raise awareness, demand policy changes and advocate for clean air solutions were echoed throughout the summit, with an impassioned closing remark from Browning: “Today’s summit gathered so many models of individual leadership advocating for a healthier planet for our children, free of air pollution and toxic chemicals from continuous plastic production. We will not rest until our children are safe.”
Photos from the event can be found here and a full recording of the summit here.
Read more about the event and see the speaker list here.