Obama's smog flip-flop may leave black kids breathless
OPINION - For the country as a whole, the choice between the economy and the environment is a false one...
The one in six African-American kids who suffer from asthma got bad news today. President Obama has withdrawn rules that would have cut back on ground-level ozone — a precursor to smog. This means a delay in cleaning up the air these kids sometimes struggle to breathe.
I know the president is in a tough spot. The economy is a mess, a very tough election season is shaping up, and some of his most vocal opponents are convinced they can score political points by rolling back pollution limits.
But giving polluters a break carries real costs, for real people. About nine million children in the U.S. suffer from asthma, and attacks can be triggered by polluted air. Setting limits on how much air pollution American families have to live with is a sensible way of balancing the need to breathe with the need to make a profit.
I take this issue personally. When I was a girl, I had asthma. We lived in a neighborhood so polluted by refineries and factories that our family doctor told my mother we should move to protect my health. Moving wasn’t an option for us — we couldn’t afford it, and my mom couldn’t move too far from her job. Ever since, I’ve been a fervent believer in the principle that American families should not have to choose between their jobs and their health.
For the country as a whole, the choice between the economy and the environment is a false one. A few weeks ago, the independent, non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released a report showing that the benefits of EPA regulations far outweigh their costs — it’s not even close. And since the Environmental Protection Agency was signed into existence by President Nixon, our air, water, and land are all cleaner — while our GDP has grown by 200 percent.
Americans families want and deserve both a stronger economy and a healthier environment. We stand with the American Lung Association and other groups who believe our children should not have to hold their breath, hoping for cleaner air.
Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins is CEO of Green For All, a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.
