Saturday, May 14, 2011

Clean Air in Jeopardy by Kathy Gapa

Even though the LWVUS started supporting all laws
concerning the environment in the 1920’s-the Clean
Air Act, the Clean Water Act. Through the years
assaults have occurred to undermine these laws.

In April 2011, an assault was attempted to gut the
Environmental Protection Agency, including the Clean Air Act.
Local and state Leagues and the national LWV honored Earth Day
(April 22) as a day of action, engaging our communities
to help safeguard the EnvironmentalProtection Agency’s
ability to establish the urgently needed protections
called for by the Clean Air Act.

In a recent statement, League President Elizabeth
MacNamara strongly voiced the League’s concern
about protecting Clean Air. Earlier, the League and
coalition partners had sent a letter to members of
the House of Representatives urging them to oppose
H.R. 910, which would put America’s health,
prosperity, and national security at risk!

Also, the League, with the American Lung
Association and the Sierra Club, has been
conducting a series of phone briefings that target
women in seven states about the health risks
inherent in stripping the EPA of its authority over
clean air. The first “Talking about Toxics Program”
was held in Ohio on April 14 with a second on
April 20 in Michigan. Future briefings will be
conducted in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Missouri,
Colorado, and Massachusetts.