Tuesday, December 18, 2012

CUTTING ENVIRONMENTAL REGS WILL AMPLIFY BIRTHS OF IMPAIRED CHILDREN

Received a letter from SaveOurEnvironment. The letter emphasizes that now, more than ever, we need to protect and strengthen our federal environmental programs. In the wake of the devastating disaster of Hurricane Sandy, the consequences of climate change have never been clearer.

And, scientists are saying that we can only expect it to get worse. That's why we need to do everything we can to prevent any further disaster and bring America into a clean energy future. Save Our Environment strongly urges all of us to oppose cuts to federal funding for any vital environmental programs as part of a budget deal or sequestration.


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We have already suffered enough cuts to these programs, which only make up 1.25% of the overall budget. Cutting funding any further would be devastating for the well-being of our country. We should be prioritizing clean air and clean water programs, and making the right steps to protect our wild places and wildlife. Please, ask your senators and congressmen/women to you cut the tax breaks for Big Oil and Big Coal companies, which would save more than $40 billion over 10 years and provide a safer and cleaner environment in communities across the country.



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As a school psychologist, I have dealt with the mental and physical health of children over the past 36 years. The growing percentage of newborns afflicted with disorders such as autism, asthma, retardation, hyperactivity, and mood disorders are being linked, more and more, to environmental toxins. One example is mercury vapor, which continuously spouts from our coal-burning power plants. I testified at an EPA hearing in Columbus, Ohio and spoke about how environmental toxins are harming our children

There are two veteran journalists who conducted ground-breaking research that showed how, why and where 
industrial toxins are causing an explosion of birth defects, cancer, asthma, and other serious illnesses in American children. They are journalists Philip and Alice Shabecoff, and they investigated corporate payoffs to highly paid Washington lobbyists, to "scientists-for-hire" working in labs, to the offices of politicians responsible for regulation, and right back to our homes and schools-which are built, stocked, and "cleaned" with deadly toxins. There book is "Poisoned for Profit", which is not advertised on this site, but I highly recommend you obtain it. They vividly describe the lives of children, families, and communities beset by environmental poisons, pose solutions to eradicate this crime, and offer a practical guide to protect children from harm. 


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It's amazing that in the United States alone, industrial and agricultural toxins account for about 60,000 avoidable cancer deaths annually. Pollution-related health costs to Americans are similarly staggering: $13 billion a year from asthma, $351 billion from cardiovascular disease, and $240 billion from occupational disease and injury. Most troubling, children, the poor, and minorities bear the brunt of these health tragedies.
And, an anti-environmental coalition of U.S. politicians, campaign contributors, and lobbyists are about to fail us and our children again, by eliminating environmental protection laws. This coalition exerts ultimate power over media, advertising, and public relations to cover up environmental disease and death. Even our devoted scientists and the environmental regulators themselves are frequently "captured" by well-funded polluters and special interests.


Don't we, ordinary citizens, have an obligation to help prevent avoidable environmental deaths and to remain informed about, and involved in, public-health and environmental decision-making? That's what a democracy is all about! Only a fraction of the early colonists supported the American Revolution, but that tiny group managed to change the world. In the face of powerful corporations, lobbyists and politicians, we can do the same for environmental health.


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So, we all must act globally, nationally and locally to maintain healthy, natural environments. Urge your reps in the Beltway to leave our environmental laws alone. And, act locally to create a Wildlife-Friendly Yard. There are 28,000,000 acres of mowed lawns in America, and if we create wildlife-friendly spaces in them, it will benefit the threatened species of flora and fauna by counteracting urban sprawl. Plan backyard spaces that are beautiful and that provide food and shelter for wildlife visitors. Learn about the specific, indigenous plants in your locale that appeal to different types of birds, butterflies and other wildlife.

Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S believes urban sprawl can be offset by creating wildlife-friendly spaces in America's 25,000,000+ acres lawns, one yard at a time! Click HERE to learn why. A portion of Ad revenues (10%) will be donated to Monarch Watch, earmarked for their Monarch Waystation program. Do you have a wildlife-friendly space? Please share it by Contacting Us!