Environmental Health

November 29, 2012

Twenty-six years ago when I first went to work for the United Church of Christ (UCC) Commission for Racial Justice, terms such as environmental racism, environmental INjustice, and environmental justice were just entering the lexicon. Communities of color, low-income, tribal and immigrant...

MomsRising Together

Vernice Miller-Travis

Environmental Health Blog Carnivals

November 29, 2012

Forty years ago, the nation made a commitment–in the form of the Clean Air Act—to cleaner air that would protect all Americans, especially our most vulnerable populations. Yet today, far too many American families are living and working in neighborhoods with dangerous levels of air pollutants that...

MomsRising Together

Jeff Levi

Environmental Health Blog Carnivals

November 29, 2012

In the summer of 2012, families throughout the United States, especially in urban areas, were alerted on dozens of days that the air was unsafe for their children to breathe. Some cities experienced record numbers of “code orange” and “code red” smog alert days. With childhood obesity also hitting...

MomsRising Together

Rebecca Hull

Environmental Health Blog Carnivals

November 29, 2012

History doesn’t repeat itself but it rhymes ~ Attributed to Mark Twain One of the highlights on Election Night 2012 was when Obama alluded to Hurricane Sandy in his victory speech , saying that we all want our children to live in an America that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a...

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Dave Room

Environmental Health Blog Carnivals

November 29, 2012

It is hard to think of breathing as a luxury—but for my granddaughter that is her constant reality. Our family lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is one of the smoggiest cities in the country, largely because it’s surrounded by a ring of five coal-fired plants. In the five generations that...

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Patricia Moore

Environmental Health Blog Carnivals

November 29, 2012

I am Katie Fink, one of the Environmental and Climate Justice Leadership Fellows working specifically on Region 7. I am originally from Baltimore, and therefore have a particular interest and stake in Region 7's environmental and climate justice issues. Because of this, I recently had and eye...

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Anita Sarah Jackson

Environmental Health Blog Carnivals

November 29, 2012

Those fighting for the mountains and those who make the mountains their home have won a crucial victory. On Thursday, November 15, 2012, Patriot Coal became the first U.S. operator to stop large-scale mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining. Patriot Coal is known for destructive large-scale mining...

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Angela Garrone

Environmental Health Blog Carnivals

November 29, 2012

Five year old Micah looks longingly out of the window of his Portsmouth, VA home as the kids walk home from school as they plan to toss their book bags on their beds, grab a snack and run back outside to enjoy the final daylighthours playing with friends before dinner. Micah won’t be able to do any...

MomsRising Together

Anita Sarah Jackson

Environmental Health

November 29, 2012

On the heels of our highly divided presidential election, I had a cordial post-election discussion with friends, a mixed group of Republicans and Democrats. (Yes, this is still possible, even in Texas!) One friend said, “One of the things I love most about this country is that no matter what...

MomsRising Together

Gina Carroll

Environmental Health

November 29, 2012

It is a no-brainer: Healthy children are the key to the future of America. Understanding that children are more vulnerable to environmental hazards than the adults around them, and knowing that children cannot identify hazards or get out of harm’s way, our elected officials should ensure that all...

MomsRising Together