Message from Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (AHNE)-Time Sensitive

July 5, 2016

We will be delivering this thank you IN PERSON to the EPA on Friday July 8. Let's show them that nurses care about clean air and climate change! Please share widely and sign TODAY!

Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that they had finalized the first-ever national limits on dangerous methane pollution from the oil and gas industry. This is a BIG DEAL because currently the oil and gas industry is leaking millions of tons of methane pollution and toxic chemicals into the air – harming our health and speeding up climate change.

Thank the EPA for taking action to cut dangerous methane pollution.

Oil and gas wells and other equipment across our country emit millions of tons of methane gas each year into our atmosphere, along with toxic chemicals, through the practices of venting, leaking, and flaring. These chemicals pose a significant public health threat and this regulation is a good first step in reducing these harmful pollutants.

Methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions contribute to ground level ozone formation. Ozone, otherwise known as smog, is a toxic air pollutant that is harmful to the respiratory system. Exposure to ozone can trigger asthma attacks, increase the risk of cardiac and other respiratory issues, increase emergency room visits, and contribute to early death. It is also linked to poor pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight babies and preterm delivery, both of which can have lifelong negative health implications for that infant. VOCs such as benzene and formaldehyde are also known carcinogens.
Besides contributing to ozone formation, methane is also a potent greenhouse gas and this new standard will make a meaningful difference in our work to mitigate the effects of climate change. Climate change is the most pressing public health issue we face today. As nurses we are already seeing the impacts of climate change in our patients and communities.

Thank Gina McCarthy for taking this important step to combat climate change and protect our health.
The rule on new sources of methane pollution is a strong first step to address climate change and reduce toxic chemical emissions. Now, we must build on that great progress, and we need you to join nurses from around the country and speak out and encourage the EPA to quickly enact standards for existing sources of methane as well.

Ask Gina McCarthy to finish what she's started -- add your name now.

Thanks for all that you do,
Katie
Katie Huffling, MS, RN, CNM
Director of Programs
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
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