Crossposted from Earthjustice by Debra Mayfield
With some members of Congress doing less to protect the health and welfare of their constituents and more for the interests of industry, its easy for us ordinary folks to get disillusioned and throw in the towel. But then we turn towards the faces of our children, neighbors, parents and friends struggling with asthma from industrial pollution and tail pipe emissions. We see the lakes and rivers we swam and fished in as kids decimated and our drinking water supplies poisoned by poorly regulated and inadequately maintained coal ash disposal sites. Despite the logjam in Congress, we know, disillusioned or not, that we must insist that Congress stop turning a deaf ear to us and make industry accountable.
Listen now
This was the message that theClean Air Ambassadorsof50 States United for Healthy Airbrought to Washington, D.C. in May. It also comes through in a new series of stories on Pacifica Radios national program,Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots. Airing on Pacifica stations across the country over the next few weeks and on iTunes viagreenpeaceradio.org, the program, hosted by Greenpeaces Kert Davies, features four50StatesAmbassadors:
of the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians from Moapa, NV
with the Respiratory Health Association from Chicago, IL
from Kingston, TN, the home of the 2008 Tennessee Valley Authority spill
from the Black Belt of Alabama, the resting place
for over half of the mercury and arsenic laden waste from the TVA spill
Each share brief but resounding words about their individual struggles to fight for clean air in their communities. They talk about meeting with their representatives, the administration and most importantly their fellow Ambassadors who joined them in the battle for our health.
The show also includes a provocative discussion with Robert Gardner, Greenpeaces Climate and Energy Campaigner and yours truly about the threeissuesthat50 States Unitedfocused on, as well as Greenpeaces intrepid and extremely effectivecampaign against Duke Energy, the largest electric power holding company in the United States. Congress hears from lobbyists and lawyers all the time, but its the voices of those on the ground and their stories of bad air and how they and their communities are impacted that are making the real difference. Even the Ambassadors agreed that the true power of the event and, even a bit of a reward for their years of struggle, was not just in being heard, but meeting and sharing with others facing similar battles to theirs, learning that no matter how fatiguing the fight, how dispiriting the setbacks, and how few and far between the wins, they are not alone.
And thats a win, in and of itself.
Make sure to check your local Pacifica radio stations for dates and times of broadcasts or download the iTunes podcast atgreenpeaceradio.org.
And don’t miss more of Vickie Simmons story in the film,An Ill Wind, produced by Earthjustice, detailing her tribes past and continuing struggles with the Reid Gardner Plant in Moapa, NV:
