From Moms Rising (https://www.momsrising.org/):
“The air is literally unsafe to breathe. [1] I’ve had a pounding headache for two weeks straight. My four year old has had a sore throat, constant cough, and is wondering why he hasn’t been able to play outside in a week. My one year old keeps sneezing and trying to play with the *three* new air filters in our house, blowing across the room to try to help clean the air for my family (and we are the lucky ones who were even able to find and afford air filters right now). And I have to ask myself: what is the long term effect on my kids and family?“ — Lauren Hipp, MomsRising Early Learning Senior Campaign Director writing from Seattle
Seattle is having the worst air quality ever recorded [2] as a new weather phenomenon coined a “smoke storm” blankets Washington with clouds of smoke coming from British Columbia so dense that they’ve been picked up on radar. [3] California is burning, so is Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Washington, and the list goes on. Climate change is real, causing higher spring and summer temperatures and earlier snow melts, which in turn causes drier soil and a longer wildfire season. [4] And we need our leaders to DO SOMETHING. It’s now a 10-alarm emergency.
Congress needs to do everything in its power to stop climate change, including standing up against the Administration’s plans to roll back regulations that reduce carbon emissions. Enough with the incrementalism that doesn’t address the emergency that climate change is for our nation and world. We need real action right now—take action at https://action.momsrising.org/sign/climate_change_2018.
The West is on fire, and we can all see it in Seattle, in Denver, in Sacramento, in Eugene, throughout California to Oregon, Washington State, as well as far, far north up into Canada and south into Mexico and beyond. Many people are having trouble breathing. Planes are delayed at airports due to low visibility.[5] We’re getting alerts on our cell phones saying not to go outside. We’re also hearing from moms across the region who are at a loss for what to do – and sharing things like: “There is truly no worse feeling than having this major threat that you feel like you can do absolutely nothing to help protect your children from.”
Some politicians have long insinuated that climate change a hoax despite all the data to the contrary. [6] Other leaders have swept the issue aside and delayed taking action, some in order to protect the profits of the fossil fuel industry and other polluters, but others just out of apathy because climate change hadn’t been seen yet in big ways. Well, nearly half of our nation is breathing it right now. And even so, at this very moment, unbelievably, the administration is dismantling the few flimsy rules we have in place to clean up emissions from coal fired power plants. [7]
Alerts are telling people the air is unhealthy to breathe and to avoid going outside (even in a car), to close your windows in your house, to use air filters, to wear masks, and that people with asthma and other conditions are particularly at risk have been coming out from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. [8]
Nearly one in ten children in our nation have asthma. [9] You likely know people who are having trouble breathing right now. Pregnant women, young children, and those with other health conditions are all at increased risk.
This is it, people. This is a wake up call.
We need your quick signature now to get Congress moving on real change: https://action.momsrising.org/sign/climate_change_2018.
For too long we’ve put off addressing climate change. As we’ve waited, much of our western continent is dealing with smoke and fire for the second summer in a row with major smoke/wildfire issues. It’s easy to look away, to give excuses and say things like, “Well, there’s been bad forest management…” And sure that’s true, and it’s also an important issue that needs to be addressed, but many of the forests that are burning the most right now and bringing the majority of smoke to Washington State are far, far north to the of us in Canada in places where because it’s now warmer there’s been less snow, and thereby less snow melt, that would stop forests from igniting including in places like the Yukon territory. [10] That’s not bad forest management. That’s climate change. And it can’t be overlooked that much of the western continent is dealing with the massive smoke and fire, not just the US. This is a global problem. This is an entire climate problem. This demands big changes.
If every single member of Congress was in Washington State this week having to stay inside in order to avoid the air outside, dealing with headaches and sore throats while keeping inhalers close despite the air filters in their house, and watching the smoke fill their neighborhoods for the second year in a row because then, maybe then, we’d have action. Since that’s not likely to happen, this week, please join in calling on Congress saying: “Enough already. Scientists say climate change is real. The West Coast can’t breathe. Stop playing political football with the health of future generations and move quickly to stop climate change.”
And the more of us who reach out to our leaders, the bigger the impact we’ll have on this emergent priority for our country. So please pass the action link around, post it on social media, and be sure to sign onto our letter too.
#EnoughAlready #StopClimateChange #ThisIsNotADrill
[1] https://action.momsrising.org/go/38455?t=14&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4 [2] https://action.momsrising.org/go/38456?t=16&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4 [3] https://action.momsrising.org/go/38457?t=18&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4 [4] https://action.momsrising.org/go/38458?t=20&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4 and https://action.momsrising.org/go/38459?t=22&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4 [5] https://action.momsrising.org/go/38460?t=24&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4 [6] https://action.momsrising.org/go/38461?t=26&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4 [7] https://action.momsrising.org/go/38462?t=28&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4 [8] https://action.momsrising.org/go/38455?t=30&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4 [9] https://action.momsrising.org/go/38463?t=32&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4 [10] https://action.momsrising.org/go/38458?t=34&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4 and https://action.momsrising.org/go/38459?t=36&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4
Photo: Washington Smoke Information, https://action.momsrising.org/go/38464?t=38&akid=11131%2E2540879%2ExKWuT4
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