This Mother’s Day, Moms Demand Clean Air and Climate Action

Media Contacts
Madeline Page

Environment America

Today, mothers from across the country are making an urgent Mother’s Day plea to state and national leaders to protect our kids’ health and defend clean air and climate protections. This video, released by Environment America, features stories from mothers explaining why clean air matters to them.

“This Mother’s Day, we are celebrating how much moms do to protect their children’s health and future,” said Dominique Browning, Senior Director of Moms Clean Air Force. “At a time when bedrock clean air standards are under attack, moms are united in calling for clean air for all children. No one voted to Make America Dirty Again. Our kids’ health is our priority — not the profits of corporate billionaires.”

2016 was the hottest year on record, making it the third consecutive year to set a new record for global average surface temperatures. And pollution from burning fossil fuels doesn’t just further climate change, it also yields serious health impacts for everyone who breathes it in.

“Along with all the other things that moms have to worry about these days, no mother should have to worry about how dirty the air is that their child is breathing,” said Heather Govern, a mom featured in the video.

According to a recent report from Environment America Research & Policy Center, people living in 72 different metropolitan areas across America experienced at least 100 days with unhealthy levels of air pollution.

In the video, mothers from Philadelphia to Tucson are saying they don’t want their kids breathing polluted air that will raise their chances of developing asthma and other respiratory conditions. They are demanding climate action so their children will not have to inherit a world suffering from the damaging impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures and extreme weather events.

We need to stop burning dangerous and dirty fuels like coal, oil, and gas and instead shift to 100 percent clean, renewable energy. In the face of reckless and dangerous actions from the Trump Administration on clean air, our members of Congress must stand up for our health. Regionally, our elected officials have a role to play as well. For example, the northeast should double the strength of our local clean air policies, like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

“All I want for Mother’s Day is clean air and climate action to protect my daughter and everyone’s kids,” said Anna Aurilio, DC office director for Environment America. “The more we cut pollution, the sooner dirty air days and extreme weather disasters can become a thing of the past.”

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