Make a difference in the challenge to confront global warming and prevent nuclear war and the development and use of nuclear weapons.
Tell President Obama to cancel the Vogtle Loan Guarantee! We don’t want or need new nuclear reactors and we don’t think that taxpayers should be on the hook to support a mature industry.
Air pollution is a general term for a variety of substances and gases in our air that pose risks to health. Pollutants and irritants include ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), toxic substances such as mercury, and some naturally occurring substances such as pollen. Exposure to the many pollutants in the air can have a range of adverse health effects, from shortness of breath and coughing to heart attacks and lung cancer.
While air pollution adversely affects the entire U.S. population, children, the elderly, and people suffering from chronic illness are particularly vulnerable. Compared to adults, children spend more time out of doors, breathe more rapidly, and inhale more pollutants per bound of body weight. The elderly are more susceptible to air pollution because their immune systems are weakened by age and they often suffer from one or more chronic illnesses. Poor and minority communities also are disproportionately affected by air pollution because they often are situated closer to pollution sources.
In the United States, air pollution is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under authority granted by Congress in the Clean Air Act. EPA sets health-based standards for six of the most common pollutants, known as criteria pollutants. Despite significant progress in air quality improvement, approximately 150 million people across the United States continue to live in areas with unhealthful levels of air pollution in the form of either ozone or particle pollution.
The American medical community believes it is necessary to acknowledge the onset of global warming,
Climate Chaos: How Coal Accelerates Climate Change
The United States generates almost half its electricity by burning coal -- an outdated, toxic technology that spews pollutants into the air. Coal's carbon dioxide pollution is a major contributing factor to climate change. Coal also emits a host of toxic "conventional pollutants" -- mercury, nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and others -- that inflict severe damage on the body's major organ systems. Read more »
Climate Chaos: Health Implications of Climate Change
As we continue to burn fossil fuels, the atmosphere warms, and world climate changes. Higher temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, and rising sea levels lead to more frequent heat waves; more frequent intense storms; increased flooding; in some places, increased drought; loss of shoreline and greater risk from storms in coastal and low-lying areas. These bring increased risk of disease, injury, nutritional deficit, and death. Read more »
The Silent Epidemic: Coal and the Hidden Threat to Health
In The Silent Epidemic, Alan Lockwood, a physician, describes and documents the impacts of the coal fuel cycle on human health. Lockwood’s comprehensive treatment examines every aspect of coal, from its complex chemical makeup to details of mining, transporting, burning, and disposal—each of which generates significant health concerns. Read more »
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