On September 2, President Obama ordered the EPA to withdraw the Ozone Rule, a proposed regulation that would have protected millions of Americans from smog and pollution. The President has heard from those that generate the smog and pollution. He needs to hear from the millions of Americans who suffer from ground level ozone.
Ozone Hurts Millions
Ground level ozone is part of the smog that plagues our country, particularly during the summer. The EPA has summarized its harmful effects:
Breathing ozone, a primary component of smog, can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion. It can worsen bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. Ground-level ozone also can reduce lung function and inflame the linings of the lungs. Repeated exposure may permanently scar lung tissue.
Ground-level ozone also damages vegetation and ecosystems. In the United States alone, ozone is responsible for an estimated $500 million in reduced crop production each year.
Sierra Club’s Response
Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune expressed his disappointment in the president’s decision:
"The Sierra Club condemns the Obama administration's decision to delay critical, long-overdue protections from smog, an acidic air pollutant that when inhaled is like getting a sunburn on your lungs. By putting the interest of coal and oil polluters first, the White House seems to be saying that 'clean air will have to wait.'
"A healthy economy requires clean air and healthy people, and these protections from smog would have improved our communities and saved billions of dollars in health costs. Half of U.S. families live in places where it is literally unsafe to breathe the air, and kicking the inhaler down the road will do nothing to protect our children.”
Your Chance To Respond
The Tea Party’s concerns are daily headlines. We need to hear your concerns about smog and pollution. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Tell how you have been affected by ozone action days. Sample letters are below but your own words are much more effective. When you send a letter, direct a copy to Bryan Crenshaw, ebciii(at)bcrenshaw.com and William Kramer, william.kramer(at)sierraclub.org.
Sample Letters
Obama's Delay Means More Sick Kids
To the Editor:
As a parent/health professional/teacher, etc., I am appalled that President Obama chose to delay vital protections from smog pollution. After the summer we have had, full of orange alert/bad air days, I had hoped that my children/patients/students would have been able to breathe easier soon. But by putting the interests of coal and oil polluters before those of our community, the president has left us all at risk.
The science clearly says that we need stronger protections from smog, and this president says he believes in science. Letting polluters run wild won’t create jobs or save lives. It will just cause more asthma attacks and illnesses.
I will be watching closely to make sure the president stands strong on other environmental or health protections. I'm doing my part to leave a better world for future generations, and I hope that President Obama will do the same.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Obama Misses Chance to Help (City/State) Families Breathe Easier
Dear Editor,
With over 500 dirty coal-fired power plants across the United States, including Plant Name in Town, it’s hard to breathe easily. Burning coal releases deadly air pollution that is making us sick from asthma attacks, cancer and heart disease.
So I was shocked to read that President Obama had decided to delay issuing stronger protections from smog. Science based standards would have saved lives and prevented disease, but instead, polluters will get to continue spewing pollution into our air.
The science clearly says that we need stronger protections from smog, and this president says he believes in science. Letting polluters run wild won’t create jobs or save lives. It will just cause more asthma attacks and illnesses.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Cars Get an Extended License to Pollute
To the Editor,
State-ans should be appalled at the Obama administration's failure to protect families from car and truck pollution. Gas-guzzling vehicles generate smog and inflame our lungs, but the president just delayed issuing stronger protections until at least 2013.
By delaying new smog protections, President Obama has sentenced our children to years of more deadly air pollution that is making us sick from asthma attacks and heart disease
Why do oil companies matter more than our children? Smog pollution costs us billions of dollars in health costs each year. President Obama missed his chance to clean up the air for future generations.
I will watch carefully to see if the president breaks any more promises to our children. There is too much at stake to let anything get in the way of science.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Angered by the passage of the TRAIN Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, major public health advocacy and environmental groups rallied at 5:30 pm on September 27th outside of U.S. Senator Bob Casey’s office to call for an end to right-wing attacks on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In one of the largest environmental rallies in recent years, over 50 activists called on Congress to halt efforts to undermine forty years of public health victories thanks to the EPA and landmark protections like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.
