It worked! Time to celebrate the voice of people! The President of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set tighter and stronger national air quality standards on soot on Friday, December 14, 2012!!! Many of us participated in a National Call In Day regarding soot standards. The day is just like it sounds…we call the White House, our Federal Representatives and Senators and other decision makers and asked for stronger standards. I participated in the effective advocacy efforts from the American Lung Association and the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America. Time to enjoy this victory step on our climb towards clean healthy air!
Lydia, a mother who lost her daughter to an asthma attack had something to share on the American Lung Association’s website about this clean air victory, ““I’m a mother who knows all too well how devastating an asthma attack can be. The EPA’s action today will mean that other moms whose children struggle to breathe because of soot pollution can know that much cleaner air is coming. Steph would have been 22 years old on Sunday, December 16. This is a wonderful birthday gift in her memory.”
photo courtesy of the American Lung Association
Soot is one of the worst offenders of clean air and this step is critical and important in protecting the 20 million of Americans with Asthma. Both of my children have asthma and in managing their disease, we approach it from what we call the bucket theory; each asthma trigger is one item that is added to the bucket. Eventually when the bucket gets full, it tips over. For example, soot from local factories, combined with a windy day, a cold and perfume on a teacher could easily trigger a brutal asthma attack to my children.
Thank you everyone who participated in National Call In day. If anyone is interested in joining either the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America or the American Lung Association’s advocacy efforts check out these two links:
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- Take Action with the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America (AAFA). AAFA focuses on food allergies, environmental allergies, asthma and air quality.
- Take Action with the American Lung Association (ALA). ALA concentrates on lung health (asthma, lung cancer, smoking prevention and lung disease) in addition to clean energy and air quality.
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..