This piece was cross-posted at Milspouse Mutterings
Last week, while driving down the toll road in Denver, I crested the hill and started down into Parker. I looked up to the horizon, where I should have seen the mountains. Instead of the magnificence of the Rockies with the snow on them, there was a haze with some darker smudges and lighter drifts.
I’d heard that the pollution from California was affecting the Denver area – but that was such a visible reminder it was shocking. A week later, driving back down that same piece of road, the magnificence of a nighttime thunderstorm revealed the glory of the mountains, the air washed clean. The next day, we could still see the mountains clearly, and for me at least, the sight was awesome! My 5 year old granddaughter, born in the shadow of those peaks, wondered why I kept pulling over and staring at them, she’s so used to them. I want her to be used to seeing them clearly, not having to squint to see them through the haze of pollution.
If something as magnificent, as timeless as the Rocky Mountains range is being affected, one has to wonder at what else is being impacted, the lungs of our children? The Clean Air Act is not just here to aggravate big business, contrary to the very vocal critics’ opinions. It was promulgated for US. For you, me and our kids; for the generations that come after us, who deserve to see those mountains without a dirty haze on them.
Last week there was a Senate hearing on the Clean Air Act. What we need now is to contact our Senators and Representatives, and encourage them to support the Act, to support clean air for your child and mine.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) who is the chair of the Environment and Public Works subcommittee on oversight wrote a piece for Moms Clean Air Force. You should read this – it’s important.
Take a look, then make some calls; write some letters. Only by talking, only by making our voices heard can we hope to make a difference. Please join us at Mom’s Clean Air Force. With enough noise, with enough voices, even the Senate has to hear us over the noise of the lobbyists from the energy companies and coal companies.
Photo Credit: Rolf Hicker