Declare Your Right to Breathe
Do you think that all Americans have the right to clean air? Then sign the Right to Breathe Declaration! The Clean Air Act—signed in 1970 by Pres. Nixon and improved upon in 1990 by George H.W. Bush—has benefitted millions of Americans in its 40-year history. Just last year, for example, clean air health protections helped…
This page was published 13 years ago. Find the latest on Earthjustice’s work.
Do you think that all Americans have the right to clean air? Then sign the Right to Breathe Declaration!
The Clean Air Act—signed in 1970 by Pres. Nixon and improved upon in 1990 by George H.W. Bush—has benefitted millions of Americans in its 40-year history. Just last year, for example, clean air health protections helped save the lives of more than 160,000 Americans.
More work remains to be done. Some of the dirtiest industrial polluters, such as coal-fired power plants, aren’t currently subject to any limits on their emissions of mercury, lead, soot and other dangerous air pollutants. Americans deserve health protections against this toxic pollution. Show your support by signing the declaration. Here’s a short video on the Right to Breathe.
The Right to Breathe Declaration:
Clean air should be a fundamental right. Every year, many Americans young and old get sick because of air pollution. Thousands die. But our bodies don’t have to be the dumping ground for dirty industries. The technology to dramatically reduce harmful air pollution is available today, and major polluters should be required to use it. Not a decade from now. Now. We will raise our voices to demand immediate action, because every American has the right to breathe.
Sam Edmondson was a campaign manager on air toxics issues from 2010 until 2012. He helped organize the first 50 States United for Healthy Air event. His desire to work at an environmental organization came from the belief that if we don't do something to change our unsustainable ways, we are in big trouble.
Earthjustice’s Washington, D.C., office works at the federal level to prevent air and water pollution, combat climate change, and protect natural areas. We also work with communities in the Mid-Atlantic region and elsewhere to address severe local environmental health problems, including exposures to dangerous air contaminants in toxic hot spots, sewage backups and overflows, chemical disasters, and contamination of drinking water. The D.C. office has been in operation since 1978.
