The words “air pollution” conjure up images of hazy, smoke-filled skies and puffs of exhaust coming from a tailpipe, but the pollution we don’t see is often the most dangerous.
Particle pollution—also known as particulate matter, PM2.5, or soot—is made up of tiny particles that are at least 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair. These invisible particles may be miniscule, but they have an enormous impact on our health—particle pollution is one of the leading causes of premature death worldwide. When inhaled, this micro-pollutant embeds in our lungs and passes directly into our bloodstream, leading to asthma attacks, lung cancer, impaired immune health, heart attacks, stroke, preterm birth, and more. Children, older adults, pregnant people, and individuals with underlying conditions are among those most vulnerable to these health harms.
That’s why Moms are disappointed that EPA’s newly proposed particle pollution standards don’t do enough to protect our families. Our Senior Policy Analyst Elizabeth Bechard discusses the proposal’s shortcomings with Forbes, highlighting that Moms are especially disheartened that the rule does not strengthen the “24-hour standard,” leaving the more than 63 million people in the US who experience unhealthy spikes in daily particle pollution at risk. Elizabeth says: “It’s really a missed opportunity to help protect the most vulnerable communities, who are most impacted by these short-term spikes in air pollution.”
Fortunately, the rule isn’t final yet, and Moms are working hard to push EPA to finalize a version that incorporates the standards recommended by leading medical groups. Sign our petition to join our call for cleaner air!
MORE METHANE, MORE PROBLEMS
Building on the momentum of last month’s EPA methane hearing, Moms have continued to push for strong methane pollution protections.
Vanessa Lynch, our western Pennsylvania coordinator who lives on the front lines of the oil and gas industry, writes about the importance of comprehensive methane safeguards in a letter to the editor of the Tribune-Review. Vanessa recalls how families living near the “catastrophic” methane leak in Cambria County last year struggled with headaches and other health challenges after exposure to the pollution. She says the experience “eroded” the “sense of safety our families rely on.” Adding to the list of reasons to cut methane pollution now, Vanessa also cites a recent study that found that Pennsylvania children who lived near a fracked well were two to three times more likely to develop leukemia.
But headaches and cancer are only a few of the ways pollution from the oil and gas industry harms our health. Methane is a major driver of climate change, which has grave public health impacts, and the air pollutants released during methane extraction can lead to adverse birth outcomes, central nervous system toxicity, asthma attacks, and other types of respiratory harm. As Ohio coordinator Tracy Sabetta (above) tells Public News Service, cutting methane is a powerful tool that we can use to protect our children’s health. “Air pollution from the oil and gas industry can cause respiratory diseases, asthma attacks, increased hospitalizations… We can go a long way in curbing climate-change pollution if we reduce the amount of methane emitted from these wells.” This article also ran in Cleveland Scene and WCSM Radio.
Strong methane standards would go a long way toward protecting everyone’s future, but those living closest to sources of pollution would feel the most immediate benefits. In an interview with Univision, Texas coordinator Erandi Treviño points out that many of these people are Latino: “There are about 2 million Latinos in this country who live within a half mile of oil and gas facilities and these people who live near these facilities are much more affected [by pollution] because they are breathing in these chemicals in a concentrated form.” This increased exposure, combined with low levels of health insurance, creates a toxic situation for Latino families and makes cutting methane pollution an urgent matter of environmental justice.
PROTECT OUR HOME
Last month, hundreds of Montanans from across the state gathered at the State Capitol in Helena to demand action on climate. The Independent Record reports on this “Climate Advocacy Day” organized by our Montana state coordinator Michelle Uberuaga and local partners.
The event included a press conference where local leaders and youth speakers gave moving remarks. One teenager shared that it was her birthday, asking: “How many more birthdays will I have while the air is breathable?”
Find more coverage of this event in the Billings Gazette, Missoulian, and Ravalli Republic.
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Moms collaborator and former Field Director Heather McTeer-Toney is quoted in Real Simple’s roundup of ways to give back on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. She says: “One of the last acts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy was supporting sanitation workers: men who worked under a cloud of pollution and environmental inequity.”
- The Arizona Capitol Times ran an Arizona PBS article quoting our former Public Health Policy Director Molly Rauch on ozone: “[Ozone is] really nice high in the atmosphere and really irritating for people who have to breathe it lower in the atmosphere.”