Because moms and family members across the country united our voices and signed on to MomRising.org’s petitions and letters calling on our government to defend clean air and fight climate change…. We were LOUD, and we were HEARD.

Here's how we know: Before the business of government was so rudely interrupted by the government shutdown, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy delivered a major policy speech on climate change at the National Press Club, singling out MomsRising as an example of an effective community calling for action. WHAT AN HONOR!

Administrator McCarthy’s remarks were the official launch of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the first step of which is to finalize the first-ever rule to limit harmful carbon emissions from new power plants.

Here’s what Administrator McCarthy said:

“When it comes to health concerns, don't your children always come to mind first? … That’s why groups like MomsRising are speaking up against the threat of climate change and pollution to protect our children from those dangers…” CLIP

And moms and families specifically need to be hot and bothered about power plants. Why? Because coal-fired power plants account for about 40 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the United States that cause climate change. You heard that right – 40 percent! Yet, this source is completely unregulated. We can’t wait any longer. We need to put limits on power plant carbon emissions and begin doing something about climate change now.

In addition to reducing carbon emissions from power plants, The White House Climate Action Plan also includes: investing in clean energy, improving fuel-economy standards, and cutting energy waste in homes, businesses and factories.

No one obsesses about air quality and the future of our planet like moms, because our kids’ health and future are directly and intimately affected. Polluted air is an important trigger of childhood asthma in the United States--and right now, asthma is skyrocketing, impacting one in 10 children. Air pollutants like soot and mercury have been linked to stunted lung growth and impaired neurological development in children. Furthermore, extreme weather events like Hurricane Katrina will continue to threaten our families and our children’s families into the foreseeable future if we don't stop harming our environment. We need action now!

Sign MomsRising’s letter telling EPA that moms support the new source carbon rule that requires future power plants to be built with the latest air-filtering technology – technology that will not only protect the air our kids breathe from polluting toxins but from greenhouse gases as well.

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/2013-Carbon-Rule1_New2/