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Promote clean renewable energy, prevent massive nuclear and coal subsidies, and reduce the threat of nuclear war! Join PSR for a Day of Action in Washington D.C, April 29, 2010.

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Code Black Toolkit

Coal's Assault on America's Health

The Code Black Toolkit contains:

More materials will be coming soon.

How to Order the Materials:

Click here to download the mail-in order form.


How Health Professionals Can Use the "Code Black Toolkit"
to Take Action

1. Learn with us about coal’s impact on health and on the planet.
 
With total disregard for coal’s deadly health impact on scores of American communities -- and the entire planet -- Big Coal seeks to build more than 100 new coal-fired energy plants.  Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) takes this assault on America’s health with the utmost seriousness.  Code Black is PSR’s program to inform health professionals about the multiple threats that coal poses to public health, and to help health professionals strengthen local efforts to oppose and defeat the approval or licensing of new coal-fired plants.

The materials in this packet provide a solid foundation for grasping the health impacts of coal and those of global warming.  More information will be posted periodically on the Code Black website -- visit it at www.psr.org/CodeBlack. 

2.  Take a stand to assure that our communities have safe, healthy sources of power. 

The American people turn to doctors and nurses for reliable information on issues of health and safety.  Use that trust and respect to provide positive leadership by insisting that energy sources be safe and healthy. 

  • Post Code Black educational materials in your health care waiting room, in hospitals and in health clinics.  Download materials above. Use the order form in the Code Black Toolkit to order informational posters, tee shirts and other resources. 
  • Draw on Code Black materials to write letters to the editor or op-ed articles for local newspapers.  Voice your concern as a health care professional, highlighting both the toxic pollutants that coal combustion spews out, and coal’s significant contribution to greenhouse gases and global warming.
  • PSR and Student PSR members and chapters can circulate petitions, distribute information at health fairs, and voice your concerns to candidates and elected officials. 
  • If there’s a new coal plant planned in your state, call or email Barbara Gottlieb, Environment & Health Program Manager, for information on local opposition efforts: bgottlieb@psr.org, 202-587-5225.

3.  Mobilize the medical community to prevent global warming and health risks caused by coal.

As you lead, bring other health professionals along with you.  Educate your fellow health professionals where you live and work about the deadly threats that coal-fired plants pose to health.  Work with your local affiliates of health professional associations (AMA, ANA, APHA, etc.) to pass resolutions opposing the construction and licensing of new coal-fired plants.

For support, resources and draft resolutions, contact Barbara Gottlieb, Environment & Health Program Manager, at bgottlieb@psr.org.

Together, we can stop coal’s assault on America’s health.  Because power shouldn’t be poisonous.

 

Browse Resources

Action Alerts

  • Join Us in a Day of Action April 29, 2010

    Promote clean renewable energy, prevent massive nuclear and coal subsidies, and reduce the threat of nuclear war! Join PSR for a Day of Action in Washington D.C, April 29, 2010.

  • Urgent Vote Coming - Defend the Clean Air Act

    The Clean Air Act over the past 40 years has provided effective means of limiting dangerous air pollutants and has saved countless lives. Now, the Clean Air Act and with it the EPA Endangerment Finding are under attack. To protect our nation's health and the world we need your help!

More action alerts»

Resources

  • PSR Reports: Spring 2010

    Inside this issue: PSR makes the medical case against coal, the need for chemical reform, President Obama's risky nuclear loan guarantees, a dangerous nuclear power plant in Vermont, nuclear disarmament challenges and opportunities, and more. Read more »

  • Coal's Assault on Human Health

    Physicians for Social Responsibility has released a groundbreaking medical report, “Coal’s Assault on Human Health,” which takes a new look at the devastating impacts of coal on the human body. Coal combustion releases mercury, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and dozens of other substances known to be hazardous to human health. This report looks at the cumulative harm inflicted by those pollutants on three major body organ systems: the respiratory system, the cardiovascular system, and the nervous system. The report also considers coal’s contribution to global warming, and the health implications of global warming. Read more »

  • Cooking the Earth

    "Cooking the Earth," PSR’s handsome new slide show, describes how coal increases global warming and how that warming threatens human health. 40 slides. Read more »

In the Spotlight

  • March 15, 2010
    Walking the Talk on Coal
    Dr. Barbara Warren and PSR members are walking the talk in Arizona: educating the community on the human and environmental threat of coal fired power plants, engaging activists and elected officials in work to promote energy alternatives, and serving on government bodies working to make changes.