This weekend, EPA Administrator Michael Regan took the stage at COP28 to announce the finalization of strong protections that will cut methane and other hazardous air pollutants from new and existing oil and gas operations.
- Moms have been fighting for these critical protections for over a decade. In just the last two years, we’ve delivered 100 testimonies and almost 50,000 public comments to EPA in support of strong, comprehensive methane safeguards.
- Everyone’s health will benefit from these rules. Methane is a potent climate pollutant that has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide, meaning that even small cuts in methane pollution can help us course correct on climate–and prevent worst-case climate scenarios that put children’s health and future at risk.
- These safeguards are especially important to families living near oil and gas operations. As our National Field Director Patrice Tomcik (pictured above) tells WRAL, this rule can prevent up to 97,000 cases of asthma and 35,000 missed school days per year by reducing the amount of health-harming air pollution that the oil and gas industry releases into communities.
Read more about this announcement in an article by EFE, the Spanish news agency–which ran in El Pregonero, Forbes Mexico, and about a dozen other outlets–and in a NM Political Report article that quotes Moms’ National Field Manager Celerah Hewes, who called the rule “one of the best levers we have to quickly and significantly reduce methane pollution across the US.”
IN OTHER NEWS…
- Colorado field organizer Shaina Oliver talks to Denver 7 about the impact of environmental racism in her community and calls on state leaders to follow through with the goals outlined in the Environmental Justice Act, which establishes Coloradans’ right to clean air and water.
- Last week, our Senior Policy Analyst, Elizabeth Bechard, co-facilitated a climate café that gave parents of young children a space to work through their climate emotions in a supportive setting. Valley News, NHPR, and WBUR covered the event.
- After a Pennsylvania court ruling blocked the state from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a program that would help cut power plant pollution, Pennsylvania field organizer Vanessa Lynch urged her state to appeal the decision. Vanessa’s response is quoted in Public News Service, BCTV, Pennsylvania Ag Connection, and the PA Environment Digest Blog.
- Michigan field organizer Elizabeth Hauptman highlights the health benefits of electric school buses in an interview with News 10.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Over the last couple of weeks, Moms and EcoMadres earned mentions in a League of Conservation Voters post and on Families for a Livable Climate’s website.
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- Patrice Tomcik on WRAL
- Shaina Oliver on Denver 7
- Elizabeth Hauptman on News 10
- Elizabeth Bechard in Valley News
- Vanessa Lynch in Public News Service
TELL PRESIDENT BIDEN & EPA: MOVE QUICKLY TO FINALIZE STRONG POLLUTION PROTECTIONS